《Screw the Apocalypse! My Daughter's Gonna Die! [Post-Apocalyptic Progression Fantasy]》 Chapter 1: Can You Please Buy Me That Doll!? If you think raising a kid is hard, try raising one in a post-apocalyptic world. Trust me, any father should be lucky to have a daughter but even they¡¯d have to admit it¡¯s pretty annoying having to deal with constant complaining and bad mouthing while running away from radioactive zombies and giant birds trying to eat them. But I for one think I¡¯m doing a wonderful job! The proper organization of food and other supplies so that we¡¯re not just wasting them all in a few days is a skill I¡¯m proud to have. And yet, I guess my skills as a father wouldn¡¯t be appreciated unless I bought this girl some stupid doll. ¡°For the last time Sunshine, I¡¯m not buying you that doll. I only have enough money for these things, you know.¡± I said, making my voice sound more serious and fatherly. ¡°Now, if you keep bugging me about this, you won¡¯t come with me on my next mission.¡± Clearly, my daughter didn¡¯t catch my bluff as she gave me this really exaggerated raised eyebrow, eerily similar to this picture of a wrestler I showed her a couple months ago. She rummaged through the basket full of snacks, frozen food, painkillers and various other drugs he was holding and made a ¡°Hmm¡± sound. Oh no. Here she goes again. ¡°Jerome, what are you lying to me for!? These only cost thirty dollars. I know you have an extra twenty on you!¡± Damn it! I hate when she does that. Maybe next time I''ll cover up the price tags¡­it''s too bad that''s ¡°illegal¡±. ¡°How do you even know I had an extra twenty!? Don''t tell me you took a peep at my status board without my permission?¡± ¡°No¡­yeah¡­but that''s only because you left it out in the open while you were sleeping. Maybe next time don''t be so tired.¡± Now that I think about it¡­I guess I was hit with a flash of blue once I woke up today. But I could''ve sworn that was just the sky saying good morning to me. How could I be so careless? Especially with a clever girl like this living with me. ¡°Even if that was the case, that''s still an invasion of privacy and you shouldn''t-¡± There was no use trying to reprimand her. She was too busy staring at that boxed Barbie doll. Probably imagining all the ways she''s gonna play with it. Well, that ain''t gonna happen. Not ¡®cause I don''t wanna buy it. It''s only ¡®cause I''m very¡­very cheap! ¡°Listen, you know I''d buy anything you wanted¡­as long as it''s within my budget. We can''t exactly afford to buy useless things in a world like this. Only important thing like food, medicine for you and-¡± ¡°Women?¡± The sheer bluntness of what my daughter just said hit me like a truck. How could she have known about my nightly escapades!? I thought I made sure to tuck her into bed but it looks like she¡¯s a real night owl. Well, I know the best way to deal with a situation like this. Lie a little! ¡°Sunshine¡­you know I got a lot of debt to pay off, right?¡± I chuckled nervously, my forehead glistening with sweat. ¡°Those girls were just debt collectors. And I¡¯ve been racking up a lot of debt these past few years.¡± ¡°Mhm. I¡¯m sure you have,¡± she said, her voice filled with sarcasm. ¡°If you¡¯re gonna lie, you could at least make sure your face is a little more dry.¡± She placed the doll back onto the shelf and hopped over the giant boxes of cereal on the ground on her way to the cashier desk. She could barely hide the disappointment on her pale face. I rubbed my face in shame as I watched her converse with the mutated cashier, coughing a few times while she talked. Here I was, spending our resources on frivolous shit while my kid couldn¡¯t even have a little fun with some plastic doll. It looks like I have to make this up. I rushed over to grab the doll, stuffed it deep into the basket, and approached the cashier, picking up all the cereal boxes from the ground and placing them back onto the shelves as I walked. Once I reached the counter, I expected to be politely greeted by the cashier as I always have, but this time he was giving me the cold shoulder, staring at me with his glowing yellow eye. And I had a feeling why. ¡°Are you really going to take her side over mine? Weren¡¯t you a father too before the whole¡­you know,¡± I asked cautiously, hoping not to step into any unwanted territory. From what I could make out from his really hard to understand voice, his name was Savgir. Or maybe Savir. Every time I asked him to repeat it, I could never understand how to pronounce it. Those were the downsides of being in the same city that the nuke hit. Anyone who was in that vicinity at the time went through a lot of painful changes. Physically and mentally. In Savir¡¯s case, half of his body was turned into this green ooze that bubbled constantly and left him incapable of seeing or hearing on that side. Funnily enough, he was actually one of the lucky ones. If he stayed on the surface for just a few days longer, he would¡¯ve just been another one of those mindless zombies limping outside his convenience store. Obviously, I wasn¡¯t gonna tell him that. I¡¯m sure he¡¯s suffered a handful already. ¡°He¡¯s giving you the silent treatment,¡± said Sunshine, writing the words ¡°you¡¯re cheap¡± on the counter using Savir¡¯s green ooze. ¡°Yeah, I can see that.¡± I set the basket onto the counter and began to take out all the items I planned to buy. ¡°I heard you coughing when I was walking here. You¡¯re gonna be ok, right?¡± ¡°Probably.¡± Probably was never a good answer. Especially in her case. ¡°Probably, eh? Well, wanna know what¡¯ll make you feel better?¡± I flashed the Barbie doll Sunshine wanted so much at the two and was delighted to see how much her face lit up. ¡°Jerome! You¡¯re seriously getting this for me!? Wow. Thank you!¡± She quickly swiped it off me and gave the box a tight hug. ¡°Ok, maybe you¡¯re not as bad or cheap as I thought. I mean, you still are but like..less.¡± Despite her backhanded gratitude, I always loved seeing her happy. Even if it was a hit to my cash. I didn¡¯t really care too much about Savir¡¯s anger towards me turning into respect but that was also nice to see I guess. ¡°Sorry for looking at your status board this morning,¡± she said, giving the doll to Savir. ¡°And following you to the civilization. I won¡¯t do it again. Probably. Promise!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t think I didn¡¯t hear that ¡®probably¡¯. I ain¡¯t stupid.¡± Instead of the laugh that looked like it was about to escape her mouth, she coughed again, this time sounding more painful. I quickly leveled down to her height and rubbed her back. To my surprise, she lifted her head up and flashed a bloody smile, numb to the pain she should¡¯ve been feeling at that moment. Sheesh, was she really that happy over some plastic doll!? She didn¡¯t even notice the blood she got all over the box.This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. ¡°Let¡¯s get you cleaned up, ok?¡± I had trouble hiding the worry in my voice which I¡¯m sure the kid noticed. I got up and prepared to pay some extra cash for a roll of paper towels. However, before I could walk away, Savir grabbed my arm and tossed me a roll. ¡°It''s on the house,¡± is what I think he said, holding a thumbs up with his gooey hand. ¡°Oh, thanks man!¡± I excitedly said. I then turned to my daughter and said ¡°Isn''t this great, Sunshine! Now I can save more money for next time!¡± ¡°Geez Jerome, you really are cheap!¡± Ignoring her remarks, I paid for all the items and dropped them all in the shopping bag I brought with us. ¡°Here.¡± Sunshine took the bag from my hand. ¡°Remember what I always tell you. Keep your body low and your breathing-¡± ¡°To a minimum. Yeah, yeah. I know. Don''t worry about me. It''s not like you won''t be right behind me anyway.¡± I softly laughed as I watched her leave the store and crouch near the window, watching the horde of zombies, unaware of her presence, walk past her. Not a care in the world for any of them. Simply trying to unbox that doll of hers. I could say she was a little old for a doll but who knows what nine year old girls like these days. ¡°She doesn¡¯t have long to live, does she?¡± My eyes widened as I turned to Savir. For some reason I could fully understand what he just said. His tone was calm and melancholic as if he knew something I didn''t. ¡°She¡¯s fine. We''ll just up her medicine intake. That''s all.¡± ¡°Um¡­that doesn''t sound safe. You know using painkillers to ignore the pain of that disease of hers isn''t gonna make it go away, right?¡± ¡°Listen man, you don''t know what it''s like to raise a kid in this hellhole we call Earth now. You got off easy having kids before all this happened. So you keep doing your cashier shit and I''ll keep doing my shit. Cool?¡± I stormed out of the store and expected to see Sunshine waiting for me but she wasn¡¯t there. I frantically looked around but she was nowhere to be found, the only thing in my vision were those damn zombies. Where the hell could she have gone!? It¡¯s not like she would just run off on her own. She always waited for me. At that moment, I heard the familiar scream of a girl from behind the store. It was my daughter. I ran towards the back, forgetting to keep the noise levels down so the zombies wouldn¡¯t get alerted. But who the hell cares right now!? My daughter was in trouble and who the hell knows what dastardly radioactive beast could¡¯ve been trying to kill her. However, instead of some zombie or monstrous animal terrorizing Sunshine, it was a group of humans, all of them wearing shiny black suits and wielding a variety of weapons like bats and katanas. They all had these intense looks on their face, like predators who just captured their prey. But the one who caught my attention the most was the man holding my daughter in the air by her pink hoodie. I knew exactly who he was. ¡°Jerome!¡± cried out Sunshine, attempting to release herself. ¡°I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on! These guys just ganged up on me!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, kid! Everything¡¯s going to be alright!¡± I shifted my attention back to the blue haired man holding her. ¡°Hey, Dante! Let go of that girl or I¡¯ll-¡± My threat was cut off by the group laughing at me, a few of them inching closer to me. ¡°Or what?¡± asked Dante, trying to hold back his laughter. ¡°You¡¯ll run away from the fight and cry like you always do? Keep making jokes like that Jerome. You might actually kill me this time if I keep laughing like this.¡± ¡°Look if this is about the money I owe you guys, I promise I¡¯ll pay you back. Just let her go and we can work out some kind of deal.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve been saying that for months now and I always let you off the hook, begrudgingly, but not this time. You will pay me what you owe!¡± He took out a pistol from the belt around his waist and aimed it at Sunshine, her eyes were welling up. ¡°If you don¡¯t, I¡¯ll kill this stupid bitch right in front of you.¡± My blood began to boil the moment he shoved that gun into her face. There was no fucking way I was just gonna stand there while a bunch of assholes threatened to kill my daughter. I heard a crunch sound to my right and what I saw made my muscles twitch. This apocalypse took everything a girl could want away from her and here these guys were, crushing the Barbie Doll she asked so much for. That was the last straw. ¡°Don-Don¡¯t be stupid! Don¡¯t you know Jerome¡¯s a strong fighter. He tells me all about his adventures. Killing radions and radion beasts!¡± ¡°What!? Don¡¯t be so damn gullible. Your father is a -¡± Dante¡¯s words were interrupted by a brutal punch to the face delivered by me. This is what I would¡¯ve liked to say but the loan shark easily caught my attack with just one hand. I tried to land another punch with my other fist but I was quickly beaten down by baseball bats by two other men. ¡°Hey, Jerome! What are you messing around for!? Hurry up and beat up these guys so we can get out of here!¡± ¡°This weakling ain¡¯t gonna beat down anyone, kid. I don¡¯t know what lies he¡¯s been feeding you but your daddy here isn¡¯t some strong fighter. He¡¯s a clown!¡± ¡°What?¡± said Sunshine, disbelief in her voice. ¡±He¡¯s just a jester who we pay to make us laugh with his silly escapades. Ha! You should¡¯ve seen this idiot the other day. The way he ran from that monster was priceless.¡± On any normal day, sure, I''d be pretty pissed that he was telling my only child about all this. About how much of a weakling nobody I am. How I can only afford our resources ¡®cause they pitied me for being a joke. The whole thing. But what pissed me off more was the fact that he was inflicting so much fear on my daughter, while I could do nothing but curl up on the ground in pain as his men brutalized me, despite my rage. Just how pathetic would a father have to be to lack the strength to protect his own child. That was me. Jerome Hunter¨Cthe weakest man in the apocalypse. ¡°Please¡­stop hurting my da-stop hurting Jerome!¡± ¡°This is hilarious! You''re so pathetic, your own kid won''t even call you ¡®dad¡¯? Just wait until my boss hears about this.¡± Fortunately for my health, the guys finally stopped making an embarrassment out of me once Dante clapped his hands. ¡°Alright, that''s enough boys. We''re out of here.¡± ¡°Wa..wait! What about my kid and the money I owe you? I thought you were gonna beat it out of me.¡± ¡°Are you deaf, old man?¡± he remarked, pointing his gun to something behind me. ¡°Can''t you hear all the radions coming this way?¡± My ears twitched when I realized he was right. The sound of tired moaning and radioactive energy sizzling the grass. I slowly turned my head and a horde of zombies were coming this way, intent on devouring us. ¡°This is bad.¡± I kept my voice low as if that would change anything about our impending doom. ¡°If we don''t get out of here now, we''re all screwed.¡± To my dismay, the group couldn''t give two shits about the zombies coming this way, instead laughing even more now. ¡°We? Who said we''re gonna die? The only one dying here is you.¡± ¡°What!?¡± Dante ripped open the white buttoned shirt he wore under his suit and revealed a light green circle that was at the center of his chest. It had a bright glow to it¨Cbrighter than the zombies behind me. Then, the entire group, including Sunshine, were engulfed in a green dome and proceeded to ascend into the sky. ¡°Wait! Dante! You can''t do this to me! Give me my daughter back! Give me back Sunshine! Please!¡± ¡°Oh yeah, you can forget about having to pay off your debt to us since you''re gonna die anyways. I don''t have to worry though. There''s plenty of weirdos out there that would pay thousands just to have your daughter as company.¡± My heart pumped faster than it ever had before as I desperately attempted to crawl away from the incessant zombies. However, even a radion, as slow as they already are, would easily catch me in this situation and that''s exactly what they did. Just the mere touch from their hands grabbing at limbs burned profusely, their radioactive liquid seeping into my veins. Most of them took a deep bite out of me, like the flesh of every other person they got their hands on wasn''t enough to satisfy their hunger. Their green ooze that could probably be compared to saliva dripped from their mouths and onto my skin. The zombies that couldn''t get a taste of my head or torso opted to tear off my limbs and consume those instead. It hurt. It hurt so damn much. It wasn''t just the pain of dying. It was knowing I was about to die and the last memory I ingrained in her head was her dad¡¯s beaten body now being torn apart by mindless zombies. Despite all that, I did not die. You''d think with all the damage my body sustained I shouldn''t even be conscious now, but there was no pain. And the world around me turned green. Chapter 2: Im A Zombie!? I never thought how¡­lifeless it would feel if I ever became a zombie. And no, I didn¡¯t mean soulless, although a monster who was completely devoid of thought probably didn¡¯t have a soul either. This feeling was a lot more physical in the sense that everything I knew to be important in the human body was no longer there. The blood in my veins, the beating heart in my chest, my lungs pumping oxygen, not even my skin which I expected to feel more rotten. God, I don¡¯t even think I have anything down there. There was no way I was gonna live the rest of my life without my down there. Wait a minute¡­live. Live the rest of my- ¡°I¡¯m alive!¡± I screamed, immediately sitting back up from the cold, cracked ground. Something about the world around me looked weird though. I blinked a couple times but I could still see these green traces of, what I assumed to be, energy all over the destroyed town of Forest Hills. Now that I think about it¡­how the hell do I have eyes in the first place!? Didn''t those zombies devour me and rip me apart? I turned my attention to my body and was utterly shocked and just how much of a change I went through. My body, if you could call it that, was now a skeleton. At that point, I would''ve already thought I was dead if it weren''t for the light green ooze layering over my bones, giving me the physique of a man who''d been working out for years without rest. I was always considered on the skinnier end by a few friends so this was a sudden change for me. However, there was one thing that confused me and it wasn''t the fact that my brown khaki pants were kept intact but not the rest of my clothes. If I was a zombie, or radion as others liked to call them, then how was I still able to think for myself? And why did I look so different? And where did all the zombies that attacked me go!? With so many questions in my head, there was one that smothered the rest and filled my mind. Where was my daughter!? I jumped back to my feet and turned in every direction but I couldn''t see Sunshine anywhere. There was this strong feeling in me that I knew exactly what happened to her but I just couldn''t for the life of me remember where she went. Could the transformation have messed with my memories somehow? Damn it! This was just perfect. A girl like her couldn''t be alone in this world. She needs me with her! I looked back at the convenience store and realized something. Savir! Maybe she was inside talking to him. Yeah, that has to be it! She''s definitely safe there. I rushed back into the store and, to my dismay, Sunshine wasn''t anywhere to be seen. In fact, neither was Savir. A toxic mixture of rage and fear boiled inside of me as the green ooze around my body began to bubble. I slammed my fist against the wall, ignoring the large crack I left on it. I walked out of the store but before I looked in another area, this long trail of green energy that went to the back of the store caught my attention. I followed it to the end where it connected to this large mass of green energy with another trail leading to the sky. It was then that the memory of what happened to Sunshine finally entered my mind, like the final piece of a puzzle. A surge of energy built up around my feet, like a rocket about to be launched. There was no more room in me to think. Only do. In that instant, my body was blasted into the air by the green energy, zooming through the air as I yelled the name of the man who kidnapped my daughter. ¡°Dante!¡± There were only three things I knew whilst in the sky. That piece of shit loan collector took my daughter. He left me to die here while he ran away in some green ball of light. That same ball of light left a trail for me to follow and find Sunshine. And that¡¯s exactly what I was gonna do! After a few more minutes in the air, the trail ended at an apartment complex and, unfortunately for me, it was infested with a bunch of other men in suits who I assumed to be in Dante¡¯s line of work. The energy rocketing me forward dissipated and I quickly descended down to the roof of one of the apartment buildings. I wasn¡¯t too high in the sky so the eventual drop didn¡¯t actually hurt. Although, I don¡¯t think zombies were necessarily supposed to feel anything in the first place. I approached the edge of the roof and was shocked to see that the guys down there had chains and leashes wrapped around the necks of a bunch of radioactive beasts. Giant birds, dogs, and even bears¡ªall of them radiating green energy. I couldn¡¯t believe it. These guys somehow tamed these vicious monsters and if I wasn¡¯t careful they would probably make me their next meal. Wait, are zombies even a part of their diet? I¡¯ll just have to hope they aren¡¯t. But if there was one species that perfectly fit their diet, it was humans. And my daughter couldn¡¯t have been safe here. ¡°Get that smelly dog out my face!¡±screamed a voice from below. It was Sunshine. I looked to the left and noticed a couple of small cages lined up near the entrances to the buildings. Big enough for a person to fit in but small enough so that they wouldn¡¯t get too comfortable inside. There was a radioactive dog, the size of a bear, snarling at my little girl and I was forced to hear her screams as the men around her laughed. A big part of me just wanted to jump down there and beat all their asses like one of my favorite wrestlers but this wasn¡¯t scripted like pro wrestling. This was life or death. Even with this new form as a zombie, I had no idea what my capabilities were besides being able to fly. Or jump really far. I don¡¯t know. Whether it was flying or jumping, I couldn¡¯t control it at all. So the only way to fight for now was as a human and to be a proper human, I needed a gun!If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. There was an exit leading to the inside of the building and I decided to take my chances. As soon as I opened the door, I was met with the sight of one of Dante¡¯s men smoking a blunt¨Ca gun shoved into his pants. Obviously, given my new appearance, he instantly noticed me and fearfully went for his gun, shouting ¡°Fuck, a radion!¡± Thankfully for me though, the idiot was so high on that shit that he dropped the gun before he could make any use of it. Once that happened, all I had to do was give him a little punch to the jaw and he was sent flying down the stairs, presumably knocking him unconscious. And that¡¯s exactly why you don¡¯t do drugs while on the job or ever at all! I¡¯ll make sure to ham that into Sunshine¡¯s skull once she grows up. I picked up the gun and ran down the flight of stairs until I decided to stop at the third floor. Luckily for me, there wasn¡¯t anyone guarding or smoking blunts of weed in the hallways so that gave me the freedom to use it in any way I wanted. I quietly opened one of the dusty windows and pointed my newly acquired gun at the dog terrorizing my daughter. Then, with a loud bang, I fired the first shot and the beast¡¯s head was surprisingly blown to bits. Without a second thought, I shot some more bullets, this time at the men near the cages, and I was able to catch a few of them lacking but the many others quickly hid away in spots I couldn''t see from the third floor. ¡°Those shots came from the third floor!¡± ¡°Someone get up there and kill that sonuvabitch!¡± Upon hearing this, I hightailed it out of there, heading towards the second floor exit and hoping to escape the area before those men got the chance to see me. I was just about to leave when I was blocked by a couple of guys at the staircase¨Call of them gripping baseball bats and swords and their eyes angrily locked on me. I flinched for a second but regained my composure and fired my gun. I missed¨Cthe bullet instead making the wall on the other side its target. Desperately, I pulled the trigger once more. Nothing came out. The gun was out of ammo! One of the guys darted up the stairs and bashed my head with his baseball bat, launching me down the hallway. Oddly enough, I didn''t feel any pain from that attack. It''s not like he did a weak swing either. It looked pretty strong to me. I attempted to get back up but I found myself surrounded by Dante¡¯s men, filling both sides of the hallway so that there was no way for me to escape. ¡°What the hell kinda radion is that!? It''s all green and muscular and shit.¡± ¡°It looks like the one Dante has in that cage in the basement. Is this one of his and it escaped?¡± ¡°Doubt it. Not only does that thing have a gun in its hand, it used it to kill Jason. Why would a radion kill a radioactive beast? Aren''t they like¡­connected?¡± ¡°That''s your issue with the whole thing? That''s a zombie using a fucking gun! I have never seen that before!¡± ¡°I killed that dog because it was scaring my daughter!¡± A resounding ¡°What!?¡± filled the second floor as every single person there was in shock that a zombie just said words. Some of them dropped their weapons in shock and most of them had their mouths wide open like they just saw the impossible. ¡°Di-Di-Did that zombie just fucking speak!?¡± ¡°That''s impossible! Maybe we''re just high? Don''t you guys smell that? Who the hell was smoking weed in here!?¡± ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure it was Mikey. He was knocked out on the stairs with a blunt in his hand.¡± ¡°Knocked out? You¡¯re telling me this zombie didn¡¯t eat him!?¡± ¡°Nope. Not even a nibble. Most he had was a broken jaw.¡± ¡°Hey, that¡¯s enough babbling out of you idiots!¡± I shouted, growing tired of their growing confusion. ¡°Just release that girl down there in the cage and then tell me where Dante is or else I¡¯ll have to give to ya¡¯ll what I was going to give to him!¡± Their expressions shifted from shock and confusion to anger and a boosted confidence at my bold claim. ¡°This radion¡¯s got some balls! Let¡¯s hurry up and kill it before Dante comes back!¡± With that said, the loan sharks charged at me and proceeded to beat down on my body with all their weapons. However, with a fierce roar, I summoned a burst of newfound strength within me and threw my entire weight upwards. In that instant, every person that was close to me was sent tumbling towards every direction in a chaotic heap. They all hit the floor together and those faces of anger became stunned when they realized that none of their attacks did any ounce of damage. After all, I was just a father trying to save his beloved child. Like they could do any harm to me. ¡°What the hell is going on!? How is he still alive!?¡± ¡°It¡¯s because you fools are going about this the wrong way! Somebody shoot that monster already!¡± Bullets hit my back but not only did they not hurt. They couldn¡¯t even get some of this ooze off me with them. Once they realized that fact, many of the guys ran back downstairs screaming their lungs off. ¡°You guys understand now, right? You can¡¯t hurt me.¡± ¡°Wh¡­Why you little-¡± ¡°I¡¯m not gonna say it again! Release that little girl in the cage and tell me where the hell Dante is!¡± It was silent for a bit, as if they were seriously considering doing what I demanded for once. But if I knew anything about guys like these, it was that they¡¯d always find a way to trick you somehow. I¡¯ll have to keep on my toes. ¡°That little girl¡­you mean the one outside?¡± asked a bald man to the side, a red whistle wrapped around his neck. ¡°Black girl, pink hoodie, sunflower in her hair?¡± ¡°Will you release her or not?¡± The man began to chuckle ominously. ¡°To think a radion would care about human life¡­¡± He raised the whistle to his mouth and said ¡°What a horrifying trait to have.¡± He blew the whistle and, at first, I was confused by the lack of sound from it. But in the span of a few seconds, the wall on the second floor burst open, sending shockwaves all around and pieces of brick flying towards me. I hurled myself out of the way when I noticed that all of the guys had quickly rushed out of the building already. Except for the man who blew the whistle, who was standing near the exit. ¡°Jerry! Kill that thing and I¡¯ll make sure that little girl is all yours to chow down on!¡± Jerry!? Wait¡­don¡¯t tell me he- My line of thought was interrupted by the sound of wings flapping in front of me. Very big wings. Flapping so powerfully that the dust obscuring my vision was immediately cleared the moment I heard the first flap. And there it was. Jerry. A giant radioactive bird had its beady eyes on me. If I had to tell the truth, I was shaking. Shaking really bad. But you know what? This was nothing compared to how much my body was shaking when I thought I lost Sunshine for good today. A radioactive bird that¡¯s hungry for some of my daughter? Like I¡¯d ever let that happen! Chapter 3: My Daughters Going to Die!? Ever since this whole apocalypse started, I¡¯ve always wondered about something every time I caught a glimpse of one of these radioactive birds. Just how strong would a freak of nature like this have to be in order to fly at this size? I mean, its wingspan was almost the same width as this side of the third floor! The side it destroyed, by the way! And look at it flying there in front of me¡­ it obviously knows just how terrifying it is. Eyes blacker than obsidian, only staring at prey it¡¯s confident it can devour. Bone-like spikes at the tips of its feathers. A beak shaped like a giant spear. Not to mention all this green aura radiating from its body. Geez, what kind of idiots would name this thing Jerry? This ain¡¯t no Jerry! I can¡¯t believe Sunshine had this same view for who knows how long¡­ I cannot let that slide! I lunged at the monstrous beast with my fist, hoping to end this fight quickly, but the bird didn¡¯t even flinch at the sight of me¡ªinstead, it opened its beak, preparing for its meal. Skipping the fight and already opening that stinky mouth of yours, eh? Just like my daughter¡­ skipping the hard work and going straight for the prize. Don¡¯t be so damn greedy, bird! I pulled back my arm, aiming for its dark brown beak that hadn¡¯t fully opened yet. I swung, but the bird moved quicker, opening its beak to its full, gaping extent, dwarfing me. With my fist left punching air, I was swiftly trapped in the mouth of the bird. However, my new body wasn¡¯t so weak that I could be swallowed easily, and that¡¯s exactly what the bird discovered as I gripped its beak with all my might. Its slimy tongue curled beneath me, clearly trying to scarf me down, and let me tell you, this was definitely not a pleasant feeling. Though, with my hands on its beak like this, I was sure it wasn¡¯t enjoying it either. C¡¯mon, you dumb old animal! Show me how much pain you¡¯re in right n¡ª To my surprise, the beast¡¯s expression was the same as when it first appeared before me. Calm and confident that it would devour me. Shit! Don¡¯t these things feel pain in their beaks!? Hurry up and let go already! Instead of letting go, the bird¡¯s mouth stayed put, intent on its goal. Suddenly, this green, foaming liquid began to froth from its mouth, building up until it eventually covered my entire body. There were bones within it too¡ªhuman remains. Sheesh, was this that vomiting technique birds use to feed their babies!? But if that¡¯s the case, wouldn¡¯t that just make me fall out? What was this thing trying to do? My questions were answered when I felt myself slip further into the bird¡¯s mouth. It was swallowing back the vomit, and unluckily for me, I was right inside it. I knew I didn¡¯t have much time left, so I desperately slammed down on the beak, but it did nothing. I guess it really didn¡¯t feel pain there. Just my luck¡­ At that moment, a surge of energy filled my feet as the vomit started to bubble and sizzle profusely. It was the same feeling as the one that launched me toward the apartment complex, and I had a feeling the two of us were about to go flying. Although, unlike last time, we weren¡¯t about to rocket into the sky. Fortunately, we zoomed through the air and out of the apartment complex, slamming into multiple trees until we finally hit the ground hard. I skidded across the terrain, feeling the energy in my feet dissipate with each scrape against the earth. Finally, the last remnants of my power faded as I lay in a small crater¡ªthe dirt beneath my head acting like a soft pillow. I couldn¡¯t stay down for long, though; I had to make sure my plan worked. I sat up and, as I expected, the radioactive bird was a few meters away, trying to fly up but failing miserably. I know I was gassing the bird up about its strength earlier, but even a monster like this should have trouble ascending with all these trees in its way. Good to know logic still works in a post-apocalyptic world. But with the bird losing its best ability¡­ wait, what the hell is it doing now!? Using the spikes on its wings, the bird shredded through the trees like they were paper. I quickly moved out of the way before any trees could land on me, ending up right behind the bird in the process. Once the path to the sky was clear, the bird extended its wings and prepared to ascend. But there was one problem it had that I immediately noticed from behind: one of its legs was broken. Oh yeah! How could I forget how fragile those limbs are? They¡¯re built like sticks. The bird crouched down but squealed in pain as it quickly shifted to one leg. It then turned its head toward me and, for the first time since we started this battle, its expression changed. Pure rage¡ªfurther reinforced by the deafening roar it released, along with an intensifying green light around its body. But like I said earlier¡­ There are scarier things in this world than some stupid bird! I rushed toward the bird with all the speed I could muster, and with tremendous force, delivered a powerful punch to its belly, forcing it to vomit more of that disgusting green mess onto me. The second it covered my body, my feet blasted both of us into the air, my fist still buried in the bird. Somehow, it managed to plant its uninjured foot on my chest, its talons digging in and making me flinch. Was this¡­ pain!? I thought I was done with that feeling! How is it hurting me!? The talons were too sharp for me to handle, so I was forced to pull my arm away from the bird. In one powerful motion, the bird¡¯s wings surged forward, and the sheer force knocked me back. I was flung away, the makeshift rocket boots on my feet spiraling my body out of control. My attempt to regain control failed as the bird tackled me with its skull, pushing me toward the apartment complex. I grabbed onto its feathers, trying to rip it off me, but Jerry was unyielding. Was he really that hungry for zombie meat!? Damn it¡­ If only I could control this stupid power of mine! I could absorb all these attacks like they were noth¡ª Wait¡­ absorb. Just how is this energy coming out of my feet anyway? If I¡¯m right, then the moment that green vomit spilled all over me was when I started flying. Plus, after that, the vomit mysteriously disappeared, as if my body had absorbed it and used it as a power source. And if that¡¯s the case, then why wouldn¡¯t my hands be able to do the same thing as my feet? I pretended to close my eyes¡ªI didn¡¯t have eyelids¡ªand imagined having mini rockets for hands. My arms tightened as I squeezed, squeezed, and squeezed with all my strength. Just as we reached the apartment complex, energy gathered in my palms, growing until it matched the size of Jerry¡¯s wings. Then, in one powerful burst, it erupted into a beam that blasted the bird off me, sending it crashing to the ground. With no bird or energy left in my feet to keep me airborne, I instantly fell, landing on the remains of the now-dead bird¡ªreduced to a smoking skeleton. Even though I knew I wouldn¡¯t be hurt from that height, it was still pretty scary for a man who¡¯s never flown before.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. Although, clearly the fear I felt up there was nothing compared to the fear all these loan sharks felt seeing their tamed radioactive beast killed by a mere zombie like me. Their screams were music to my ears. ¡°Th-Th-That monster just killed Jerry!¡± ¡°What the hell was that power it used!? It nearly killed me!¡± ¡°This is bad. Without Jerry¡­ how are we supposed to get more resources!? He was our only bird! Our only flier!¡± ¡°Who cares about that? This radion¡¯s gonna kill us next. We¡¯re all gonna die!¡± ¡°There¡¯s no way Dante didn¡¯t hear that explosion! Somebody call him so he can release that radion he captured! That¡¯s our only chance!¡± ¡°Screw that! Everyone, run!¡± I could have easily brutalized every single one of them right then, getting them back for all the money they took, all the times they beat and humiliated me. But there was only one thing on my mind as I walked through the crowd of fleeing loan sharks. Sunshine. I¡¯m finally here to save you! I reached the cage where they¡¯d locked her, and for a couple of seconds, she looked horrified, which shook me to my core. Of course she did. I was a zombie now. My own child probably thought I¡¯d eat her¡­ just like the ones who ate her dad. Could I even call myself her dad now? I¡¯m¡­ dead, aren¡¯t I? ¡°Da¡ªJerome, is that you!?¡± If I still had a heart, that question would¡¯ve made it skip a beat. ¡°Yeah, Sunshine... it¡¯s me,¡± I said, trying to contain the excitement building in my voice. But I couldn¡¯t hold it back for much longer. ¡°It¡¯s your dad, who came all this way to save you! Did you see me fighting that bird!? Pretty cool, right? That was all the power of a father protecting his kid!¡± Her expression softened a bit after hearing my rambling. ¡°...You¡¯re crying. Are you okay?¡± ¡°Huh?¡± I ran a finger down my face and realized that I was, in fact, crying. I didn¡¯t even know how that was possible! And green tears? Why is everything so green nowadays!? ¡°Yeah, I guess I am. I¡¯m just happy, that¡¯s all.¡± I got on one knee and grabbed the cage¡¯s metal bars. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about me. Are you okay? Those losers didn¡¯t hurt you, did they?¡± ¡°What do you mean, don¡¯t worry about you!? Why do you look like that!? You look like that zombie we saw a couple of months ago while we were going to Savir¡¯s store!¡± ¡°I wonder the same thing, kid. Why does Jerome look like that?¡± A familiar voice from my right made the imaginary blood in my body boil. I got back up and turned my head. There he was. ¡°Dante!¡± Although he was shocked for a moment, Dante¡¯s smug face, which I always hated seeing, quickly returned. ¡°Not only are you a radion,¡± he continued, slicking back his jet-black hair, ¡°you¡¯re also a radion capable of thoughts and emotion, with enough power to kill one of my beasts that I worked so hard to get. Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re a radiu¡ª¡± Before he could finish his irrelevant sentence, my fist was already sailing toward his face¡ªonly to collide with a sudden green bubble that sprang up around his head, stopping my punch entirely. ¡°Woah, woah, woah. You¡¯re angry, I get that. But don¡¯t act like this didn¡¯t start beca¡ª¡± I threw another punch at his torso, and once again, another shield came to protect his entire body. Dante¡¯s face was soaked in sweat. ¡°Jerome¡­you¡¯re actually trying to kill me here, aren¡¯t you!?¡± ¡°You kidnapped my daughter and left me for dead! And don¡¯t think I forgot the last thing you said to me before you left. You¡¯d sell my daughter to some weirdo who¡¯d ¡®enjoy her company.¡¯ I should kill you right here and then kill that same weirdo you mentioned before!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be so gullible,¡± he laughed, wiping the sweat off his face. ¡°I wasn¡¯t actually going to do that. I was only going to sell her to the Slavelands. That¡¯s all. You don¡¯t have to be so angry about it.¡± ¡°Dante!¡± I pulled back my arm and began to claw at the forcefield. ¡°You already tried punching through it and failed. What the hell do you think this is gonna¡­wait, what!?¡± To his surprise, the barrier began to seep into my hands, slowly weakening as I absorbed its energy. This power Dante wielded was similar to that dirty vomit the bird used, and since it was, this energy was mine to take! ¡°I can¡¯t believe it! You¡¯re absorbing my forcefield. So this is where that nuclear energy blast comes from¡­you really are a radius!¡± ¡°Shut up with all these terms already! The only thing I know is that I¡¯m going to blast you to pieces just like I did your b¡ª¡± ¡°I know about your daughter¡¯s disease.¡± I stopped, baffled by what he just said. ¡°Wh¡ªWhat do you mean?¡± Dante jumped back, the cracks I created on his shield sealing up. ¡°Ah, so now you want to listen to me.¡± ¡°Shut up and tell me what you know about it!¡± ¡°It¡¯s a pretty rare disease, but I can say for certain that she would¡¯ve been infected by it at the start of this whole damn apocalypse. Probably when that nuke first hit our city.¡± ¡°I already know how it started.¡± I took a few steps forward. ¡°Just tell me how to get rid of it!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I will. But if you want to know how to cure her, you have to understand just how much worse you made it for her.¡± Dante took out a red handkerchief from his pocket. ¡°You see this? This is blood. Blood that your daughter coughed up before you got here.¡± ¡°What!?¡± ¡°Oh, don¡¯t act so surprised. I¡¯m sure she¡¯s been coughing like this for a while now, and it¡¯s all because of those damn dollar-store drugs you keep feeding her.¡± ¡°You mean the painkillers and sleeping pills!? I was only trying to stop her pain.¡± ¡°And by doing so, you¡¯ve effectively shortened her lifespan from a few decades to now only a single year. In other words, by the end of this year, your daughter will die.¡± My whole world shattered in front of me once I heard this. Sunshine is gonna die¡­and it¡¯s all my fault. But that¡¯s impossible! Yeah, there¡¯s no way this guy¡¯s telling the truth! Dante¡¯s not some intelligent doctor. He¡¯s just a normal loan collector. The only thing special about him was that tricky power of his, and even then, it¡¯s not like that was his own power. It was only some tool he bought himself at Woodhaven¡ªthe biggest human civilization that wasn¡¯t attacked by zombies or rabid animals yet. ¡°You doubt me?¡± asked Dante, putting an end to my thoughts. ¡°You¡¯ve given me many reasons to doubt you these past couple of months! And why the hell would you be telling me this anyway!?¡± ¡°Because plans change, and I¡¯ve decided that you don¡¯t owe me my money anymore. You¡¯re a radius, and it¡¯s only because of that that I told you about your daughter¡¯s current condition.¡± He threw the bloody handkerchief at my feet. ¡°You and her need to come to the Underground immediately. My words about you two won¡¯t be enough. The guys down there have to see you both in person.¡± ¡°Underground? I thought you were gonna at least say Woodhaven, but you tell me some city that I never even heard of. Give me one good reason why I should believe everything you said at this point!¡± Dante scoffed, flashing the green circle on his chest. ¡°I can¡¯t give you a good reason to believe me. But I can give you a good reason as to why you¡¯re going to follow me there.¡± A sudden shrill scream from Sunshine broke the air, setting me in panic mode. I whirled around, the ooze around my skeleton bubbling as I saw a bubble around her head, tightening with every second. Without any hesitation, I rushed to her cage and slipped my hands through the bars. I was just about to try and absorb the energy with my hands when Dante said something that forced me to stop. ¡°I¡¯d stop if I were you. I could crush or decapitate her head at any moment, and your absorption ability is far too slow to prevent that from happening.¡± That asshole. If only I could get my fucking hands on him! ¡°Jerome¡­this thing¡­it¡¯s hurting my neck!¡± she shouted, attempting to pull the shield off of her. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Sunshine! I¡¯ll make sure to get this thing off you, okay?¡± I held her hands tight as the forcefield loosened, which seemed to calm her down a bit. ¡°All right, Dante! You just want us to come with you, right? Okay, we¡¯ll come! But if this is just some trick that gets my kid killed, then I swear I¡¯ll blow you to bits right then and there!¡± The man curled his lips into a foxy smile. ¡°After all the damage you caused here, you should count yourselves lucky I spared your lives.¡± Chapter 4: My Daughter鈥檚 A Little Too Smart! You know, for someone who was only nine years old and could''ve been killed by the forcefield around her head at any second, my daughter didn''t seem to have the slightest care in the world for her current conditions. Actually, she was more concerned with my new appearance than anything regarding her or the man walking in front of me that threatened her life. No. Concern wasn¡¯t right. More like this nerdy fascination over me. Now that I think about it, Sunshine always seemed to be so interested in the world around us, even with how broken and desolate it all seemed. What was the zombie transformation like for a dying human, could zombies survive off a ¡°no-people diet¡±, could we create another nuclear bomb¡­Geez, that one scared me. Doesn¡¯t she see how withered down this forest already was!? I guess if she was given the option to save the world, she¡¯d immediately say no. One eyebrow raised and all. She asked me tons of questions I was perfectly fine with answering like ¡°How''d you survive being eaten alive?¡± or ¡°How¡¯d you use that attack to kill that giant bird?¡± and the one that scared me a bit¡­¡°How was it like being dead?¡± Even though I was a zombie now, I never actually felt dead. I could think, move even better than when I was a human, and thankfully, talk. It didn''t matter that I didn''t have any of my human organs inside of me. As long as I could still be a father to my adorable little Sunshine, I was completely alive! Well, maybe not completely. I still didn¡¯t have my down there¡­ Although, out of all the things she told me these past couple of days that we''ve traveled to wherever this ¡°Underground¡± was, Sunshine never told me that she missed me. Or that she was worried I died. She didn''t even cry when she saw me like this for the first time. I was the one who cried. I almost wanted to ask her if she was worried about me but I knew I shouldn¡¯t. It would be shitty of me to ask my kid a selfish question like that, especially right now. Besides, maybe this weird fascination she had for my form was her way of showing love. That¡¯s good enough for me. ¡°So,¡± Sunshine started. ¡°Just how much farther do we have to walk to this ¡®Underground¡¯? I''m tired of having this thing around my head. And I¡¯m tired of walking, sleeping, eating, and peeing in this forest.¡± ¡°As long as your dad doesn''t do anything stupid to delay our trip like yesterday, then we should be there in about an hour,¡± said Dante, speeding up as if he assumed I would try and attack his stupid forcefield again. ¡°I only did that ¡®cause you provoked me. And let¡¯s not forget-¡° ¡°Jerome!¡± my daughter interrupted. ¡°You rolled his shield into a crater of radions and it took us hours to get him back up. We could¡¯ve totally been there by now if it weren¡¯t for you.¡± ¡°Hey, why are you taking that villain¡¯s side over your own beloved father?¡± I said in a defeated tone. ¡°Besides, if his forcefield wasn''t just some big bubble around his body, then I wouldn''t have been able to roll him like that. So if you put it that way, I didn''t do anything wrong.¡± It was a bad attempt at trying to convince myself out loud that I wasn''t in the wrong at the time. Especially since the only thing he said to me was ¡°So, how''s it feel being dickless?¡± I know it wasn¡¯t a serious question but seriously though¡­wasn''t the answer obvious!? I''m sure that asshole was just trying to make fun of me. Clearly, Sunshine didn''t share the same belief as she gave me the same exaggerated raised eyebrow that she only did when she could tell I was being disingenuous. ¡°And here I thought you were an experienced resource adventurer but there you were yesterday making stupid decisions! No wonder those guys kept laughing at you!¡± I almost forgot Sunshine already knew the truth about me. It was a real kick to the gut when the thought that my daughter¡¯s respect for me had dropped crossed my mind. ¡°But..¡± I heard Dante chuckle which pissed me off even more. ¡°What¡¯s so funny, Dante,¡± I said, raising my voice a little. ¡°It¡¯s just that¡­it must be so hard being a daddy¡¯s girl knowing your father is as childish and pathetic as you. You lied about being an actual adventurer, repeatedly embarrassed yourself at Woodhaven for cash and prioritized trying to beat me senseless instead of letting her out of that cage. So it¡¯s no wonder she doesn¡¯t call you ¡®Dad¡¯. She doesn¡¯t see you as one.¡± ¡°Huh!?¡± He turned his head and showed off this really overconfident smile that nearly made me kick his forcefield one more time. The only thing that stopped me was Sunshine beginning to speak. ¡°That¡¯s not entirely true. I mean, you¡¯re right that I don¡¯t see Jerome as a dad. But that¡¯s not because I think he¡¯s pathetic. He just feels more like¡­a big brother to me, I guess.¡± ¡­Big brother? Dante stopped near what looked to be the entrance to a sewer embedded into the ground¡ªdirt and leaves nearly obscuring it. ¡°Don¡¯t be so generous, kid. Even if that¡¯s the case, you can¡¯t deny how pathetic he is.¡± ¡°That¡¯s stupid. Why would I think he¡¯s pathetic when he risked life just to save me? It doesn''t really matter to me how he gets his money. He''s doing it to buy things for me. Even a simple Barbie doll. No matter what I think of him as, he''s still my father.¡±Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. ¡°You don¡¯t have to act so tough,¡± I added. ¡°Don¡¯t think I didn¡¯t hear every time you were about to call me ¡®dad¡¯ that day. If I still had a heart, I¡¯m sure it would¡¯ve fluttered!¡± ¡°Wh-What!? You were just hearing things!¡± she shouted, covering her face with her hood. I¡¯m sure anyone else would be pretty offended at their own child calling them by their first name but not me. As long as she still thought of me as her really cool dad who¡¯ll beat anyone up who causes her trouble, then that was all I needed to be satisfied. However, there was only one person I needed to beat in order to further solidify that fact. It was too bad keeping him around for now was the only way of keeping Sunshine alive. Plus, while I didn¡¯t exactly believe he knew anything about her disease, the fact he was so adamant on bringing us to this secret civilization piqued my interest a little. So I was pretty confused when we just stopped in the middle of the forest, standing around this sewer-like entrance. ¡°Hey Dante, why did we stop here?¡± I asked, poking his forcefield. ¡°You and Sunshine already stopped to eat so let¡¯s keep moving!¡± ¡°Use your brain for once. Oh wait, I forgot you technically don¡¯t have one anymore.¡± ¡°Once you turn off that bubble, you know I¡¯m punching you immediately, right?¡± I quickly warned. ¡°Oh, so that¡¯s why it¡¯s called the Underground.¡± Me and Dante turned to my daughter. ¡°It¡¯s literally underground.¡± ¡°Exactly. Jerome, you must be pretty happy having a daughter in the apocalypse who¡¯s so smart. Especially with how stupid you are.¡± ¡°I¡¯m stupid!? You want us to believe a human civilization can survive down there? You do know that radioactive energy would be abundant underground, right? The only things that could live down there are radioactive infected animals and zombies like me.¡± ¡°Which must be why you¡¯re taking us down there. To meet people like Jerome. And people that could¡­fix my problem.¡± Dante pointed his fingers at Sunshine. ¡°Bingo! Another point for the smart one in the family.¡± ¡°But will your forcefield be able to protect her body down there? It¡¯s just some tool you bought at Woodhaven, right!? From those tech guys.¡± I asked. ¡°Huh? Where¡¯d you get that from? I assure you, this power is all mine. And she¡¯ll be fine. Promise.¡± Like that was true. ¡°I¡¯m not too sure about that,¡± denied Sunshine, rubbing her hand on her forcefield. ¡°Even though this power could protect you from my dad¡¯s punch, my head can still feel things like the wind, heat and cold. Why are those three excluded? And since those things don¡¯t have a physical form, why should we believe it should protect me from something also non-physical like radioactive energy?¡± Dante¡¯s eyes widened once he heard all these questions. ¡°Kid¡­I¡¯ve been confused about something ever since we went on this journey and that was with you. Your intelligence, your demeanor, and even your personality is way too inconsistent to be considered normal. One day you¡¯re complaining about losing that dumb doll and the next you¡¯re analyzing my ability like some seasoned fighter. It¡¯s like your brain can¡¯t decide whether you''re nine or nineteen.¡± I gently grabbed Sunshine¡¯s shoulder and asked ¡°What are you trying to say, honey?¡± ¡°I¡¯m saying that all of this is just too fishy. A forcefield should block out anything from touching your body, right? So then why am I able to breathe or feel cold on my face?¡± ¡°If you didn¡¯t already notice, I¡¯m breathing too.¡± His tone was suspicious, like he was worried about something. ¡°So whatever ideas you got in your head, shut it down, now!¡± ¡°I also noticed something pretty weird,¡± I added. ¡°This forcefield was kept on your head this entire time and yet, every time we stopped to eat, the food and your hand went straight through it. Like it wasn¡¯t even there in the first place.¡± ¡°Hey! Father-daughter duo, I said shut it the hell down!¡± ¡°Yeah, I noticed that too. My guess is that he can control whatever enters the forcefie-Ah!¡± My daughter¡¯s sudden pained scream made me flinch, but I immediately regained my composure to assess the situation. Warm, dreaded flows of crimson trickled down each side of her neck from the edges of the forcefield, staining my finger as I cautiously touched it. Blood¡ªthe blood of my daughter, though minimal, was being spilled. And I knew exactly who caused it. My hands curled into tight fists, the ooze on me bubbling ferociously¡ªlike soda shaken a little too hard. I wanted so badly to release the strongest punch I could ever throw at that man¡¯s face but I knew that he¡¯d hurt Sunshine even more. I definitely couldn¡¯t charge at him like last time when I first saw his power. I had to put up with this shit for now. ¡°You and your stupid daughter talk way too much!¡± I calmly turned my head to Dante and he had his hand up toward Sunshine, his fingers curled. ¡°I was trying to be nice and respectful this entire time but now you two are really pissing me off!¡± ¡°Dante, when we go down there, what¡¯s going to happen to her!? Is that radioactive energy gonna infect her or what!?¡± I could barely contain the rage in my voice or my body and I knew Dante noticed that given that confident smile on his face. ¡°Don¡¯t be stupid! I already told you it won¡¯t. Is it really that hard to believe!? I¡¯m going in there with you for Christ¡¯s sake!¡± ¡°But what about the things she said about air and the cold-¡± ¡°Your daughter¡¯s smart, figuring out parts of my ability and all that¡­but don¡¯t you think since I can control whatever enters the force fields that I can just not let that radioactive shit inside?¡± ¡°All you said just proved my point!¡± my daughter cut in, holding her neck in pain. ¡±Don¡¯t believe this guy, Jerome! He can choose to let all of that energy enter my forcefield while he¡¯s perfectly safe in his! There¡¯s no cure! He has other plans in mind.¡± ¡°Dante! Answer my earlier question! What the hell are you trying to do with my daughter!?¡± Even behind all the green covering his body, I could still see the sweat dripping down that asshole¡¯s face. ¡°Fine! Believe whatever you want. But like I said before¡­you try and absorb my shield or hers, she¡¯s dead!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t listen to him and absorb my shield! It¡¯s so obvious he¡¯s bluffing. Why else do you think he wants me to go underground so badly? He or someone else down there needs me alive!¡± Even though Sunshine¡¯s safety was my biggest priority, I had to believe my clever daughter at that moment. All her points made perfect sense! With that settled, I clenched her forcefield, the energy slowly entering my palms. But like Dante said a couple days ago, my power was just too slow to do it instantly and I could only watch as Dante expanded her bubble¡ªnow shielding her entire body. ¡°Damn it! Dante, let her go! Do it or I¡¯ll-¡± Before I could get my strongly worded threat off, Sunshine was lifted into the air and hovered to the loan shark¡¯s side. I made a desperate attempt to charge at the man but I felt this sudden strong pain in my torso. It was a third forcefield, knocking me back a couple meters away. No¡­not a third one. In the second I was hit with it, Dante was completely shield free and he used that moment to open the entrance to the Underground. This was my chance! Or else it would¡¯ve been if it weren¡¯t for this damn shield pressing me to the ground! He was right there and so was my daughter, terrified by what was about to happen. I clawed at the shield, absorbing it once more. But I was too late. Dante kicked open the entrance and dropped in, momentarily disabling his ability so that Sunshine could enter too. ¡°Jerome, don¡¯t worry!¡± she screamed out, a look of determination and strength on her face. ¡°I promise I won¡¯t die! So don¡¯t waste any time beating yourself up about any of this. Just hurry up and save-¡± I didn¡¯t need to hear the rest of her encouraging words. With my body glowing with all this radioactive energy I¡¯ve absorbed, I already knew what I needed to do. I¡¯m gonna save you, Sunshine! And kill that piece of shit while I¡¯m at it! Chapter 5: Theres A Modern Day City Underground!? I never really considered Dante to be stupid. He was definitely better than me a couple months ago, that''s for sure. He convinced me¡­well, he tricked me into taking a loan out on a bottle of medicine that he said could possibly ¡°make your little girl¡¯s sickness go bye-bye¡±. Obviously, it didn''t go bye bye. In fact, all the guy gave me was a bottle of alcohol that he disguised as medicine! Sunshine was drunk for hours, and I was this close to storming Woodhaven with a big stick and whacking him to the ground. Good thing I wasn''t dumb enough to do that then, but I was still dumb enough to not at least check for an expiration date. All the painkillers and sleeping pills I bought from Savir always had one. That scam he pulled made me owe him around five hundred dollars. Five hundred didn''t sound like a lot but in a post-apocalyptic world, five hundred was like ...fifty thousand ten years ago! Did I also mention that his status board recorded his IQ to be 129!? Although the dumbest thing Dante could have ever done was threaten the life of my daughter not once, but twice now. There was also the fact he just let me finish absorbing his forcefield to boost my power, but the daughter thing was more important! And with all this stored radioactive energy within my body, I was ready to let it loose on that man no matter what. But first, I''ll have to see what¡¯s going on in this ¡°Underground¡±. I didn''t have any actual confirmation that it was a civilization or that there were even people living there at all. For all I know, it could''ve been a horrifying torture chamber that asshole was gonna use on my daughter. Not on my watch! With my mind settled with that as an answer, I pulled open the Underground entrance door¨Cwhich was lighter than I expected¨Cand I was confused when the first thing I saw was a long ladder that led down to complete darkness. Not only did Dante jump down here without any hesitation, he did that without a forcefield¡ªall just to keep me from getting back up in time. Well, if he could do that, then obviously I could too. I¡¯m a zombie immune to physical pain after all. I hopped inside and immediately was taken aback by the sheer amount of time it took for me to reach the bottom. It was as if I had just willingly placed myself into a bottomless pit and there was no chance for me to escape¡ªthe only thing illuminating my path was the glowing ooze. Minutes must have passed before I finally saw light under my feet. The end of this long ass hole. It¡¯s about time! The light got closer and closer until I finally reached the end of the hole. However, I didn¡¯t expect that single shine of light to actually be multiple lights, flickering across the massive landscape beneath me in reds, yellows, greens, and whites. I couldn''t believe what I was witnessing. Those lights came from¡­buildings. A whole bunch of buildings. It was a city! An actual, actual city. I haven''t seen one this bustling and alive in years. The sounds of car horns blaring were like music to my ears. Hell, there literally was music coming from down there. These sounds were heaven compared to the constant groans of zombie hordes on the broken-down highways or the terrifying snarls of radioactive dogs trying to eat me. How the hell was there a city like this in the apocalypse!? I wonder how Sunshine felt when she saw all this? I know she prefers a more ¡®apocalyptic look¡¯ but even she can''t deny how beautiful this all is. But I think she''d have trouble seeing from up he- Wait¡­if I''m up here now¡­then so was Sunshine! Even if Dante used his ability, would the forcefield survive the fall!? This was bad. If only my power was faster, I could¡¯ve been in the air with them. I¡¯ll just have to have confidence in the strength of that bastard¡¯s power, no matter how weird the idea of me desiring that sounded. Right now, I needed to worry about where I was gonna land, or better yet how I was gonna land. I was inching closer to the ground and making a big crater was not the plan I had in mind. That¡¯s when I remembered all the stored up energy I had in my body. If I used that to activate that rocket boost power I had, I could just fly my way to a safe spot. But I can¡¯t use too much, or else I won¡¯t have any left for Dante. All I had to do was squeeze my feet really hard and¡­ To my dismay, my body zoomed towards the ground like a jet piercing through the air, sending shockwaves throughout my body. The energy flared up from my feet like a fire gone out of control, and I needed to stop it before I reached the heart of the city. Unfortunately, my skull had already been implanted into the thick concrete before I could even come up with a plan. My mom always called me hard headed but I was sure she didn¡¯t mean it like this! I gripped the ground and pulled my head free, ignoring the sizable crater I¡¯d left behind¡ªthe impact leaving buildings damaged from the debris and people running away. For a moment, I was in awe of everything around me, but quickly shook it off, focusing on what actually mattered. I pretended to take a deep breath and then yelled ¡°Sunshiiiiiiine!¡± ¡°It¡¯s a radion!¡± was screamed out by a crowd of bystanders near me. Holy shit. There really are people here! But how the hell can they survive in a place like this? This dangerous energy was everywhere. ¡°You people heard that, right!? That thing just spoke!¡± ¡°My son was just walking there. That monster would''ve killed him if he was just a few seconds too late!¡± ¡°Does anyone here have a status board!? We needa call the Radius!¡± Who or what the hell could the Radius be? I feel like I heard that word before¡­like someone calling me by that name. I wasn''t gonna stay and find that out, especially since there was a guy behind me making the bold attempt to run me over with his car. I bolted out of the way and then made a run for it, accidentally knocking over a few bystanders in my way in the process. An hour might have passed since I began dashing through the city, hoping to catch a scared little girl in a forcefield. Despite the sight of humans all around me, I still couldn''t forget the words she told me before. ¡°He has other plans in mind.¡± What plans could even come from being in this place!? ¡°Ah, what do we have here?¡±Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. Suddenly, I felt this massive pressure slam into me, driving me down instantly¨Cmy knees and hands cracking the concrete of the alleyway I was in. The way the heavy force felt on my back and actually caused me pain, almost made me believe Dante was responsible for this. Wh-what is this shit!? It''s like the gravity here just multiplied. Dante¡¯s force fields weren''t this powerful or painful. This had to be something else! ¡°Wow, I''m surprised you could withstand that attack! Usually, that would kill anything or anyone else that was used on.¡± Whoever was approaching me had this really chaotic laugh between his sentences. Like one of those hyenas I saw at the zoo when I was a kid. ¡°You look like a Type Two Radion so what''s the deal with you? What makes you so strong?¡± From what I could see at the position I was in, the guy had these really baggy white sweatpants that looked difficult to run in. More importantly though, he was human. The glimpses of his brown skin showed me that. ¡°Guess I''ll just scan you and make sure.¡± He walked in front of me and took out, to my surprise, a cell phone! But if he was gonna scan me, wouldn''t he need a status board. A status board looked more like a tape measure than a damn phone. A flash of blue light shot out from his phone, forming a square that hovered in front of me like a hologram. At first, it showed a loading screen¨Cstandard for any status board¨Cthen shifted to bright red with ¡°Unavailable Information¡± displayed in bold black text in the middle. ¡°Huh? That doesn''t seem right? These things are supposed to scan anything!¡± The man paused for a moment. ¡°Hey, Jason! You''re a tech savvy guy, right? What''s wrong with my scanner?¡± ¡°Decapitation!¡± Did I hear that correctly!? ¡°How would turning it off and turning it on again fix it? Are you even as tech savvy as you say you are!?¡± ¡°Drowning!¡± ¡°I know it''s only a Type 2 but it''s still withstanding Daemon¡¯s ability right now. Aren''t you curious to learn more about it?¡± ¡°Burning to death!¡± ¡°Geez man, you''re always so eager to kill something!¡± The man cackled and I could''ve sworn the soft crackle of static as he did. ¡°Can''t say I don''t like it either though!¡± ¡°No, you can''t kill me! Not now!¡± His laugh ceased the second he heard me speak, leveling down to look at my face. He was a rather young looking man¨Cmaybe 20 or a little higher¨Cdespite his blinding white hair. The guy gave me this intense gaze with his regal, amber eyes that gave me the vibe of predator deadset on consuming their prey. After what felt like hours, the man''s cold blank stare turned into a manic smile, baring literal fangs at me. ¡°Did you just talk? Radions can''t talk¡­unless you''re one of-¡± ¡°Yeah, yeah, I can talk. Who cares!?¡± I said with a pained voice. ¡°Just let me leave and I won''t cause you guys any trouble!¡± ¡°No, you can''t be a radius. But I''ve never heard a radion speak before. Where are you from!?¡± he asked, joyfully. ¡°None of your business. I''m trying to find someone quickly and this is just wasting my time! Just get rid of whatever¡¯s doing this to my back and let me go.¡± Instead of a response to me, the man turned back to his friend, Jason. He wore one of those horror movie hockey masks that were pretty popular back in the day. Although, I couldn''t tell whether those red streaks on his mask were just a design choice or actual dried blood. ¡°You''re hearing this, right!? This thing is literally talking! Like words and responses.¡± ¡°Lethal injection!¡± shouted Jason, zipping down his green camo jacket. ¡°Impalement!¡± ¡°Please, I''m serious! I know it''s hard to believe but I have a daughter and she''s-¡± ¡°Daughter!? You hear that, Jason? Radions can apparently breed now!¡± he laughed, tying his medium length dreads into a ponytail. ¡°Hey, hey, what''s your kid¡¯s name? This is gonna be so funny!¡± ¡°Her name is Sunshine! And I need to-¡± Before I could finish my sentence, my head was crushed into the ground out of nowhere¨Cthe pressure on my back dissipating as soon as it did. Even though it was clearly a physical attack, it hurt like fucking hell. I still felt a hand on my skull, their fingers digging into my body''s ooze. This was the hand of a man who was abnormally big. Even bigger than me. ¡°Type One Diabetes.¡± ¡°Yeah, I was on the fence about killing this thing before but now I understand. This is an even bigger problem than a Type 2 Radion. This Radion wants to kill us all.¡± ¡°Electrocution!¡± ¡°Yeah, I''ll make sure to zap him good.¡± At that moment, a taser¡­no, something even stronger than that proceeded to shock my entire body. My entire body erupted in pain, my skeleton locking into a rigid, agonizing tension. It felt like my bones were injected with fire and that I would ignite any second now. However, I noticed something important even through the agony of the electrocution and Jason gripping my skull. Both of these attacks held radioactive energy. I could feel it seeping into me! All I needed to do was release it in a blast. Jason¡¯s arm was no joke when it came to strength but the determination of a father to save his child was even stronger. They would both find out how true this was as I summoned all the strength within me to push my skull off the ground¨Cthe ooze wobbling like gelaten. ¡°What the hell. He''s still alive!? He should''ve been dust by now!¡± ¡°Heart attack!¡± yelled Jason, his strength slightly increasing. ¡°Absorption!? So he really is a-¡± An instant later, the blast from my hands hit like a speeding train, sending us flying across the city in different directions. Buildings felt soft as my body tore through their walls like paper, rubble scattering like confetti. With a hard crash, I finally landed, skidding to a halt on cracked pavement. As per usual, none of that hurt me but the effects of those two attacks from earlier really left a number on me. Groaning, I forced myself to sit up, my vision still spinning. After shaking my head a bit, I realized where I''d landed. I was just yards away from a school and thankfully for me, there weren''t any students there. Now that those two were out of my way, I still had to figure out where my daughter was. The Underground was way too damn big for me to just find her with Dante in some random store or something. Then there was the problem of my appearance. If I''m out in the open like this, then people are just gonna keep calling those guys to come after me! Unfortunately, I didn''t have to worry about anyone calling them as they were already behind me. They entered the vicinity with a thunderous bang, forming a crack on the concrete much larger than mines. ¡°Lung Cancer!¡± said Jason, carrying the dread head on his shoulders. ¡°You really thought a blast like that would put us down for good!?¡± he added, getting back on his feet. ¡°Don¡¯t act so confident!¡± I was about to make another daring escape when a bolt of green electricity pierced the ground in front of me, stopping me in my tracks. ¡°Where do you think you''re going? We can''t let you leave after what you just did.¡± ¡°You assholes attacked me first! And then you tried to kill me! What I did was just self defense!¡± ¡°We don''t care about you attacking us,¡± the man chuckled. ¡°Not only do you have intel on that girl that came down here recently, you''re also a radius just like us. You need to come with us, now.¡± ¡°What!? You have Sunshine!? Where is she now? She better be safe!¡± ¡°Enough questions! You''re gonna come with us whether you like it or not. And clearly judging by your need to find that kid, we can use her as a bargaining chip, right?¡± ¡°AIDs!¡± ¡°Oh yeah, that too! But don''t worry. Damage control should handle it well.¡± He wiped off the dust from his black Nike shirt. ¡°Follow us, Radion man!¡± ¡°Fine.¡± Chapter 6: They Want To Kill My Daughter!? ¡°So, how¡¯s the surface been lately? You guys still suffering up there? Running away from zombies, and monsters, and all that?¡± ¡°Choked to death.¡± ¡°Yeah, yeah. And the resources. You guys still struggling getting those too?¡± I had no idea why these two were being so friendly with me¨Casking me these irrelevant questions. I assumed it was ¡®cause the space was so tight in this elevator, that the tension between us three was practically physical. Jason¡¯s physique was so large, he barely fit inside the elevator and I was forced to lean on the wall while his muscular arms pressed against my face and chest. ¡°Not gonna respond?¡± The man fiddled with the strands of hair on his chin. ¡°Oh, I know why you¡¯re so silent! It¡¯s because I never told you my name, right?¡° I didn¡¯t answer. ¡°My name¡¯s Kofi! But friends call me Crackle. Obviously, that means you can¡¯t call me that. Oh, but Jason can.¡± Like I care if I could! ¡°Gunshot to the head!¡± That big oaf¡¯s not even saying your name! There was a long pause between us as I watched the numbers on the elevator screen slowly go up. According to Kofi, Sunshine was all the way on the 99th floor of the skyscraper we were ascending in and we were currently on the 40th floor. I was pretty sure the interval between the first floor and the fortieth was about ten minutes so I still had a long way to go before I could see her. So I guess it would¡¯ve been dumb not to at least ask some questions while I still had time. ¡°Is my kid safe up there? Sunshine,¡± I asked calmly. ¡°Gunshot to the heart!¡± If I still had eyebrows, I would''ve raised mine just like Sunshine always does. ¡°What?¡± ¡°He said ¡®yeah¡¯. Don''t worry about Jason. Only crazies understand him.¡± So he just called himself crazy¡­I¡¯ll have to make sure my daughter doesn''t grow up to be like these idiots! ¡°So you two saw who took her there, right?¡± ¡°Yeah, some black haired guy. Pretty irrelevant guy, I''d say. Probably one of our resource adventurers from the surface.¡± My fist tightened as soon as I heard this. ¡°So, Dante¡¯s up there right now?¡± ¡°Who?¡± said Kofi, who sounded genuinely confused at my question. ¡°Dante Williams. Slicked back hair, always wears a suit, just an overall asshole.¡± ¡°Brain cancer.¡± ¡°Oooh, that Dante. I guess he''d still be there. That guy''s a real piece of work, ain¡¯t he? With that smartass mouth of his.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been saying that for so long!¡± I replied. ¡°And he¡¯s always such a coward too. You can bet he always has at least ten guys by his side. Every time I thought I had a chance at his ass, his ragtag group of loan sharks got in the way.¡± ¡°Guess those are the benefits of having professional dickriders by your side.¡± Oddly, a sudden laughter burst out of me, but I covered my mouth before the two heard it. At least, that¡¯s what I thought. ¡°You don''t have to hide your laugh. I already know I''m funny,¡± he said with a cheeky smile. ¡°You know I''m gonna beat his ass once I get my chance, right?¡± I asked, thinking that would bring some seriousness back to the conversation. ¡°Why settle with just beating his ass? Don''t you think you should do a little more than that considering how much you hate the guy?¡± ¡°Decapitation!¡± Kofi patted Jason on the back and then said ¡°Yeah, what Jason said! If I were you, I''d just kill him!¡± Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. That line surprised me. He said it with such a child-like expression that it freaked me out a little. And here I was avoiding the use of the word ¡°kill¡± for his supposed ally. It was clear to me that he and Dante weren''t close, but they were still on the same side, right? ¡°Of course I want to kill him. But I don''t feel that way over some petty grudge or one-sided rivalry. He threatened my daughter''s life multiple times at this point. So to answer your question from earlier, no. I won''t just settle for beating him to a bloody pulp. I don''t care how high ranked he is amongst your group of child kidnappers. I''m going to plant my fist into his face and kill him.¡± There was another long round of silence as we reached the 80th floor and I quickly regretted that mini speech I blurted out. What kind of idiot would tell two enemies he wants to kill one of their allies!? If Sunshine heard me just now- My body flinched the moment I heard the familiar sound of buzzing from where Kofi was. I tightened my fist, preparing for the fight that was surely about to happen but¡­nothing happened. Another whole minute passed before another word was said. ¡°You know, there is a method that could work on those pesky force fields,¡± he suggested, raising his hands towards me¨Cfingers coated in green electricity. ¡°Your fingertips.¡± ¡°Huh? What''s so special about them?¡± ¡°Well, you already have that absorption ability as a clear counter, but the problem with that is its current speed, right? Try pressing your fingertips on the force field instead of your palms next time.¡± He showed me his own palm, electricity slowly making its way to the middle. ¡°Your palms are too spread out for the energy to get a proper entrance which makes it slower. Your fingertips on the other hand are smaller and more slim. It''d be like a kid going through a really big door.¡± That¡­actually made a ton of sense. Now that I think about it, I did more damage to his shield clawing at it than when I used my normal method. Though, there was one thing that confused me about what he said. ¡°How¡¯d you know I used my palms to absorb energy before?¡± ¡°That''s easy to answer! During our little scuffle in the alleyway and right before that blast, you picked your hands up for a moment and I caught a glimpse of my ability going into your palms.¡± What!? He was able to notice something as irrelevant as that!? And people call me a monster¡­ ¡°But..why are you giving me tips on how to use my power better? We''re not on the same side. I could easily use that against you, you know that right?¡± Kofi dispersed his electricity, cackling with confidence. ¡°Of course I know that! That''s exactly why I told you. Everything is so boring these days. So tame. If I can make the world around me a bit more¡­crazier, then the apocalypse will finally be as fun as I dreamed it would be! Oh and I wouldn''t mind you killing Dante if you wanted to. Whether he lives is none of my concern.¡± ¡°Asphyxiation!¡± shouted Jason, pointing at the number screen¨Cnow reading 98. ¡°It''s about damn time! We''ve been here forever!¡± ¡°Kofi, what if I killed you?¡± I asked, my tone more serious. Kofi whipped his head around, flashing a beastly smile. ¡°You mind repeating that?¡± ¡°If I decided I needed to kill you, how would it feel knowing you caused your own death by helping me out?¡± ¡°Feel free to try but don¡¯t be so damn confident! If you can''t even lay a finger on a pussy like Dante, then you won''t stand a chance against me!¡± Despite the obvious disrespect from him, I was pretty satisfied with that answer. Besides, the doors had finally opened to the 99th floor of this unnecessarily tall building, and Sunshine was in there waiting for me. Once the elevator doors opened, the first thing I noticed was a horde of people standing around, unaware that we were now there. They all wore these white lab coats, so I assumed that they were scientists whose area of study I couldn''t care less about. The 99th floor itself¨Clike every other part of this city¨Cwas way too advanced to exist in a post-apocalyptic world. The white floor tiles were impossibly clean¨Cnot a speck of dust or grime from what I could see. The temperature was warm, which was a stark contrast to the cool March weather on the surface. The giant glass windows towered over the city¨Csurreal to someone like me who hasn''t been in a building this tall in a decade. There were status boards the size of TVs on the walls, each of them showing pictures of¡­ ¡°Sunshine!¡± I bolted to the status board, scaring off the woman who was typing on the keyboard along with a couple others who noticed me. ¡°It''s him. That''s the talking radion!¡± said one of the scientists, catching the attention of everyone else in the room. They all approached me quickly, disregarding any caution as they snapped pictures. The sheer number of them swarming around me probably would have overwhelmed anyone else¨Cbut not me. I was this close to screaming at the top of my imaginary lungs ¡°Where the hell is my daughter!¡± but it looked like Kofi had the same idea as his ¡°Get out of here already! The Radius has things to be done right now!¡± made them all scatter. ¡°Now that they''re gone, we can finally get this over with,¡± said Kofi, placing his hand on my shoulder and turning me to him. ¡°Radion,¡± he whispered, his voice low and tense. ¡°I''m going to ask you a simple question and your answer may or may not heavily affect what''s about to happen next. You ready?¡± I nodded. ¡°Let''s say Sunshine is your daughter. How much would you say you love her?¡± ¡°Isn''t the answer obvious?¡± I replied without hesitation. ¡°I would give my life to keep her safe!¡± A slow grin crept across Kofi¡¯s face, sharp and wild, as if he''d expected that to be my answer. His amber eyes gleamed with a dangerous excitement that sent a cold shiver down my spine. ¡°Ah finally,¡± he murmured, his voice thick and barely containing his joy. ¡°Things are about to go wild!¡± ¡°Hey, what do you mean by-¡± ¡°Hey, Lyra! Hurry up and change this place up already! Me and Jason brought the Radius over!¡± I didn¡¯t even have time to respond before my attention snapped to the sudden change of appearance in the room, happening in the blink of an eye. No, it wasn''t just a different appearance. I was in a different building entirely. Everything around me was black except for the occasional flash of green light from the top of the room. The floors, the walls, the table in front of me. It was a large, round table, accompanied with eight chairs. However, what really grabbed my focus were the three people sitting down at the table, glaring at me. A girl was on the right. An elderly woman on the left. And a man, who looked a little older than my human self, was in the middle. ¡°Wh-where am I!? Where the hell did you take me, Kofi!?¡± ¡°That brute didn''t ¡®take¡¯ you anywhere,¡± answered the girl, who couldn''t have been any older than nineteen. ¡°And you weren''t taken anywhere. I assure you we''re still-¡± ¡°Shut up! You people have my daughter, right!? Where the hell did you put her?¡± ¡°Now, now,¡± the elder joined in, a calm smile on her face. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, she''s fine. She was in pretty bad shape when we first saw her. Her face was so pale. Coughing up blood. That disease of hers has become a real problem for you, I assume.¡± My ooze started to boil relentlessly as they talked more and more.¡°There''s gonna be an even bigger problem if you don''t give her back!¡± ¡°And here I thought those two behind you were the only brutes here,¡± said the girl, crossing her arms. ¡°We have a third one as well! And to think you''re supposed to be the Radius that''s going to save our world. This is absurd!¡± I took a couple steps forward. ¡°Save the world? What kind of nonsense are you people babbling about?¡± ¡°My foolish son had one job.¡± The man in the middle finally joined the conversation. ¡°Take the girl and the Radius peacefully to the Underground. Now, because of him-¡± ¡°Enough already!¡± My shout echoed across the room, causing even the man¡¯s eyes to widen. ¡°For the final fucking time¡­bring me back my daughter.¡± ¡°Hmm. Well, it definitely isn''t good to keep a father away from his child for so long,¡± said the elder. ¡°Fine, we''ll bring her to you. But, I just have one quick question.¡± I didn''t respond. I was tired of all the damn quest- ¡°Would it be fine if we killed your daughter?¡± Chapter 7: Screw The Apocalypse! The room froze, the old woman¡¯s words ominously hanging in the air. My vision blurred, and it felt as if fire had engulfed every cell in my body, electrifying me in a way that was almost painful. That question¡­that horrifying question pierced through me, filling my head with images I never wanted to imagine. A red haze clouded my thoughts, erasing every other thought and replacing them with that single, vicious question. My fists clenched, raw energy surging through my body, making it glow with the pent-up power that I thought would be saved up for Dante. I didn¡¯t think at that moment. Only acted. With a single lunge, I charged forward, my legs flaring up like flames, my fist aiming for the old lady¡¯s gentle, serene face as if she hadn¡¯t been the one who asked me that question. No¡­not just her; every single one of them was about to feel the impact of my attack. Whether they survived or not was of no concern to me. ¡°Jason.¡± I was just about to deliver the blow when I was suddenly blocked by that hockey mask weirdo, my fist pushing into his abdomen but causing no evident damage. It felt like I just punched a boulder. No, even harder than that. Pure steel. I readied my left hand, hoping to put an end to the near eight-foot tall man with a nuclear blast, but Jason seized my fist, firmly grasping it and dispersing the energy I was about to release. Not even my feet rocketing me forward were enough to even make him budge. ¡°Jason, be a dear and restrain him,¡± she said, her voice fearless. ¡°A young man shouldn¡¯t be so rude to his elders.¡± I tried to force him off with a barrage of punches from my right hand, however it was difficult to get my full strength in any of those attacks when I couldn¡¯t fully turn my body. Unfortunately, Jason was able to notice that and grabbed that hand as well, locking me in place. It was like two blocks of metal were slamming against my hands and, at any moment, my bones would be crushed. ¡°Kofi!¡± The girl on the right spoke up, her black hair fluttering from the force of my first punch. ¡°Quit your laughing and incapacitate him already!¡± ¡°Shut up, Lyra!¡± he retorted, holding back his laughter. ¡°How am I supposed to knock him out when he doesn''t have a brain? He''s a walking skeleton.¡± ¡°You¡¯re useless,¡± insulted Lyra. ¡°You call yourself a member of the Radius when you can¡¯t even do a simple task like that?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t act all confident just because of who your daddy is! If it were up to me, I would-¡± ¡°Impaled by a spear!¡± There was no way for me to know what Jason said at that moment but, if I could guess the translation, I¡¯d say he was warning the others about the ball of energy forming in my mouth, aimed right at his face. I figured if I could release my power through my hands and feet, why not try it with my mouth? However, something strange happened to my body before I could use my new special blast. I couldn''t use my mouth. It wasn''t like it was sewn shut. My mouth was simply gone¨Creplaced by an expanse of bone. My arms were no longer my arms and were now thick wooden planks¨Calong with my legs. With no time to process how this happened to me, Jason kicked my chest and stomped me down onto the table with his brown, tattered Timberland boots. It felt like a hammer went through my chest, and if I still had blood in my body, I would''ve definitely coughed up some blood. ¡°Blood loss!¡± ¡°You seemed to be struggling with that monster so I helped you a bit. Thank me properly,¡± said Lyra, clinging to this giant stuffed bear that she was clearly too old for. ¡°Teresa.¡± The man in the middle cut in. ¡°Calm him down.¡± ¡°With pleasure.¡± The old lady¨CTeresa¨Cplaced her small hands on my forehead, hands rough and wrinkly. ¡°Don''t worry child, this won''t hurt a bit.¡± At that moment, this calm grace washed over me, as if I¡¯d just been transported to a field of colorful flowers. The fog in my mind cleared, evaporating my rage and softening my body. All of the stored up energy in me quickly weakened as the big guy finally lifted his foot off me. ¡°Ly, you can change him back now.¡± ¡°D-Don¡¯t call me by that stupid nickname!¡± said Lyra, her cheeks flushed. ¡°Here, Radion, you¡¯re lucky she sees worth in your continued existence.¡± Finally, my limbs returned to what they once were along with my mouth. Though the strong urge I previously had to kill these guys was completely gone. I couldn¡¯t even bring myself to make a fist. These assholes tamed me¡ªlike some animal! These emotions that intruded into my mind and destroyed my resolve¡­they gave me the feeling that Sunshine was still safe with me. And I knew how wrong that was. I jumped off the table and landed on my feet. ¡°What did you do to me?¡± I asked Teresa. ¡°I feel¡­good.¡± ¡°Of course you feel good, child. I healed you.¡±Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. I flexed my hand a little and the pain was still there. What did she mean by healed? ¡°If you''re wondering exactly what I healed, let''s just say I made you more¡­susceptible to reason. Less yelling and mindless violence and more civil conversation. Now, why don''t you have a seat?¡± I nodded and sat at the table, Kofi and Jason opting to stand in the corner instead. ¡°As we said before, we want to kill your daughter.¡± She said it in the same tone as before and yet, I felt fine. Not fine with my daughter being killed but curious as to why they wanted to in the first place. ¡°What could my daughter have done to any of you to warrant you killing her? She''s only nine.¡± ¡°Oh, we don''t want to kill her because she''s wronged us or anything. Believe me, your daughter''s been nothing but kind to us. Plus she''s adorable.¡± I scooted my chair closer to the table, as if it would make me understand her better. ¡°So, what''s the deal then? You guys just like killing kids?¡± ¡°AIDs!¡± Whatever Jason said, I hoped that didn''t translate to a ¡°yes¡±. ¡°Of course not,¡± giggled Teresa. ¡°You''re aware of your daughter''s illness, I''m sure?¡± ¡°Of course. It''s been with her life since she was a baby.¡± ¡°Ah, that''s great. That means we don¡¯t have to waste time explaining it to you. So, in short, your daughter is going to die by the end of the year.¡± To my surprise, even those words didn¡¯t change my demeanor. And here I thought Dante only said that to piss me off. ¡°There has to be a cure, right? Or some way to put the disease in remission like with cancer. Long enough for her to have a long life. If I could come back from being eaten alive by zombies, then there should be a solution out there, right?¡± ¡°There is no cure in this world that could possibly heal that girl,¡± said Lyra. ¡°And remission? Do you have any idea how many drugs I sensed in her body? All that did was make the process quicker.¡± So it really was true. I was slowly killing my own daughter with all those dollar store drugs I bought¡­.how could I be so damn careless? I¡¯m supposed to be her father! ¡°Mhm, yes,¡± agreed Teresa. ¡°But the girl¡¯s disease isn¡¯t just killing her. It¡¯s been infecting others as well. The surface people, I mean.¡± ¡°What? Seriously?¡± Terisa pulled out a status board from her purple wool sweater¡¯s pocket and showed multiple pictures of people in beds. All of them looked to be in pain.¡°We¡¯ve been getting reports from our surface partners lately that a number of people have been either getting so severely sick to the point of being bedridden or dying altogether. They were all infected by fragments of the disease I sensed in your daughter.¡± How could that be true? We met with Savir almost every week together and he never showed any glaring problems. Then again, he¡¯s pretty much only half-human. Ooze began to drip off my head like sweat. ¡°So¡­the only way to prevent any more deaths is to kill her?¡± ¡°Precisely,¡± said the man. I was able to get a closer look at the nametag on his chest when I was on the table and learned his name was Daemon. ¡°We can¡¯t wait for her to succumb to her disease. If we don¡¯t kill her now, it¡¯ll be the start of a new apocalypse.¡± His voice was commanding, as if he wouldn¡¯t accept no for an answer. ¡°Well, if that¡¯s the case then, why didn¡¯t you just kill her before I got here. You wouldn¡¯t have had to deal with the extra trouble.¡± Teresa shut off her status board and placed it back.¡°We simply wanted your answer to the question first, that¡¯s all. A parent should always know what¡¯s best for their child and a child should always do what it takes to make their parent happy. Wouldn¡¯t it be the kinder option to let us kill your daughter?¡± ¡°I..¡± She continued. ¡°Letting us kill your child would be what¡¯s best for her. I can¡¯t imagine all the pain she¡¯s been through. And those haunting pictures I just showed you. Letting your daughter die would save all of those lives. Normal people don¡¯t have the privilege of being immune to her disease like you and the rest of the Radius are, so it¡¯s our job to put an end to her misery so he can stop creating more misery.¡± ¡°But-¡± ¡°I remembered when the apocalypse first started¡­¡± interrupted Teresa. ¡°I was just so worried I would die. Bombs destroyed everything around me. Schools, monuments, even my favorite petting zoo. I thought I was a goner in that little house of mine. But then knights in shining armor rushed toward me, getting me to safety whilst slaying any zombies that were in their way in a red colored horse. Fortunately, I was able to survive and they sacrificed their lives to save me. They needed to die in order for me to be the woman I am today. Do you want to know who those heroes were?¡± I nodded my head, afraid of her impending answer. ¡°They were my children,¡± she said, flashing a gummy smile at me. ¡°My two sons died bravely for their mother to live. How noble. Wouldn¡¯t it be selfish of your daughter to choose her life over yours?¡± What the hell!? This bitch is crazy! I didn¡¯t know whether this ability of hers had a time limit or that story freaking me out, but I found myself slowly returning to normal. ¡°So, what¡¯s your answer going to be, Radion?¡± asked Daemon, getting off his chair. ¡°Yeah, yeah. Hurry up and tell us! You better choose the right answer!¡± yelled Kofi, electricity crackling around him. Everything they told me sounded bad. People dying because of my daughter. A whole new apocalypse too!? It was a mystery to me how other parents would think about what they were going to say to this proposition. Not me though! After all these years with Sunshine, did these people really think this would be hard for me to answer!? ¡°Screw the apocalypse!¡± The room fell silent, eyes widening as every face turned toward me, expressions frozen in a mix of shock and disbelief. Teresa¡¯s mouth hung open slightly, her composure slipping for the first time. Lyra blinked rapidly, as if she couldn¡¯t process what she¡¯d just heard, and even Daemon, stoic as ever, looked as though he¡¯d just been slapped. The only person who seemed to not be too bothered by my answer was Kofi, his cackle breaking the silence. Kofi¡¯s electricity grew rapidly. ¡°I knew it! I knew you¡¯d say that!¡± ¡°You¡­You meant to say yes, right? This is a new apocalypse we¡¯re talking about!¡± Hearing the confusion in that old hag¡¯s face was the new best thing I heard all day so far. And I knew exactly what to say to make it even worse for her. ¡°Of course I didn¡¯t mean yes! My daughter¡¯s gonna die of some stupid disease and I won¡¯t rest till I find a cure. So screw the apocalypse!¡± Chapter 8: I Found A Better Way To Use My Power! I couldn¡¯t care less about the weight of the declaration I¡¯d just made¨Cnot because I didn¡¯t know the consequences of choosing that path, but because I was perfectly ready to face that path head-on like the good father I am! My last name was Hunter after all. I''m supposed to hunt for the things that would benefit my life the most, and finding a cure for Sunshine checked that box. ¡°Teresa,¡± said Daemon, his unsettling gaze locked on me. ¡°What happened to your ability? I thought you healed him.¡± ¡°I did. I know I did,¡± she responded. ¡°He should only be following logic and reasoning. My ability doesn¡¯t just stop working.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, lady. Your power definitely worked on me,¡± I said with a proud thumbs up. ¡°You cleared my head and made me think a lot better. If it weren¡¯t for you, I¡¯m sure the big freak over there would¡¯ve had to cripple me completely. That¡¯s one thing I¡¯ll thank you for.¡± ¡°Blown to bits!¡± ¡°But if that¡¯s the case then-¡± ¡°Don¡¯t get me wrong,¡± I interrupted. ¡°I get where you guys are coming from and wanting to stop a ¡®second apocalypse¡¯ and all that, but I¡¯ve got bigger problems than that! And I¡¯d like to start fixing those problems.¡± ¡°Ah, I see what he''s done,¡± said Daemon, rubbing his thick black beard. ¡°It¡¯s not that he''s not abiding by reason and logic. He''s simply abiding by his own reason and logic and pairing that up with the strong feelings he has for his daughter. What a strange man you are, Radion.¡± ¡°With that being said, I plan on leaving now so¡­¡± ¡°So in other words, you plan on dying today?¡± asked Lyra, wrapping her arms around the neck of her teddy bear. Kofi began to radiate an aura of electricity around his body. ¡°So in other words¡­you plan on taking back your little brat by taking on all of us, right!?¡± I slowly got up from my chair and assumed an amateurish battle stance. ¡°Give me your best sh-¡± ¡°No.¡± Despite such a calm tone, Daemon ''s voice echoed across the room, dispersing Kori¡¯s aura as if that ¡°no¡± took physical shape and slapped it away. ¡°There¡¯s no use in fighting a Type Two Radion who not only fights like a human, but is also durable enough to withstand my ability.¡±Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! ¡°But Daddy, I can just-¡± ¡°You already wasted all three uses of your ability today, Lyra. I¡¯m already aware of you wasting one on that stupid toy you had the nerve to carry over here. And here I thought you were the smarter sibling.¡± Upon hearing this, Lyra¡¯s aquamarine eyes wandered off to the side, fiddling with her long black hair. ¡°We can¡¯t incapacitate him, transform his body, or even alter his mind. It¡¯s unfortunate we can¡¯t just kill him since we actually do need his power on our side.¡± Daemon stood up and pulled out a status board from the chest pocket of his white shirt. ¡°The only way to handle this is to imprison him in a cage he can¡¯t break.¡± A cage I can''t break? Shit! Is he talking about Dante!? As I correctly guessed, the name ¡°Dante¡± showed up on the blue screen and once I saw this, I jumped away from my previous position, noticing a ball of green energy forming from where I was. It was that asshole¡¯s forcefield which made a failed attempt to capture me. ¡°Dante,¡± shouted Daemon, his burly arms folded. ¡°Prove your worth as my son. Try to make yourself look like something besides a complete embarrassment.¡± At that moment, the forcefield zoomed towards me, opening up the front just wide enough so that it could force me in. Though this technique had caught me off guard before, this time I was more than ready as I was able to catch the attack, using my hands to block the edges from closing around me. But wherever Dante was, he must¡¯ve anticipated this. The bubble instantly vanished and, once again, a ball of energy right in front of my chest began to expand. Luckily, I was able to get out of the way before the forcefield fully formed. Unfortunately, I couldn¡¯t move away in time before the forcefield closed around my hand. I was too concerned with absorbing the forcefield for a boost of power to notice Jason shadowing over me, giving me a cold stare with his red, beady eyes. It was too late for me to react before he delivered a swift punch to my jaw, sending me flying toward the wall, cracking it like glass upon impact. I didn¡¯t have a brain so I couldn¡¯t exactly get knocked unconscious but it still hurt like fucking hell! This weirdo¡¯s punches were unreal. But the big man¡¯s punches weren¡¯t the only thing I needed to worry about as I found myself already encased inside Dante¡¯s technique. Damn it! How are these guys so fast!? ¡°Hmph. I didn¡¯t expect much from a weak Radion anyway! Why can¡¯t we get rid of him again?¡± said Lyra¡ªa dumb smile on her face. Shut up! That overconfident kid must not know about my power. Although, even if tried to absorb my way out of it, but my ability just wasn¡¯t fast enough to get rid of it before anyone noti- Wait a minute¡­ I looked over to Kofi who had this giant smile on his face, like he knew exactly how he would¡¯ve done if he were me right now. Yeah, that¡¯s right! I¡¯ll absorb it through my fingertips like that dread head maniac told me to do before! I placed my fingertips on the bubble and activated my ability. To my fortune, the forcefield seeped through me at a much quicker speed than before, energizing me with nuclear energy. Everyone¡®s expression in the room barely changed, like they were already aware of what I could do. Everyone besides Lyra, who stared, wide-eyed and jaw opened. Meanwhile, Kofi was struggling to contain his ability¡ªthe sound of buzzing emanating from his ability. Lyra stood up. ¡°Wh-Wh-What is¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s the power of a Radius,¡± said Daemon. ¡°And that power is coming from someone you deemed to be unworthy of standing with us. Look closely, Lyra. That man¡­no. That Radion is going to fix the apocalypse.¡± Lyra clung tighter to her bear. ¡°Well then¡­isn¡¯t that ironic?¡± Chapter 9: I Can Finally Fight Dante! Once I absorbed this forcefield fully, I would release all of the energy in one big blast, hopefully blowing them all away. Or at least that stupid grandma and her stupid wrinkly face! While I had no idea whether Dante knew what I was doing or not, the fact that it¡¯s been this long and I hadn''t been stopped yet gave me a good feeling. That was until I heard that hag, Teresa, call out to Jason, presumably to have him attack me again. My body tensed up, preparing to take the full force of another painful punch, but thankfully, a loud ¡°No¡± from Daemon stopped the big guy from moving any farther. ¡°I already allowed that serial killer to get one shot in. Now let''s see how my son handles this first.¡± There was one thing I needed to figure out if I was gonna beat this piece of shit Dante once and for all. Where the hell was he!? The only people that were in this room from what I could see were me and these ¡®Radius¡± guys. There weren''t any obvious hiding spots here as the place was literally just a black open space with a large round table in the middle. The only place he could be to freely use his ability would have to be a different floor entirely. Since this was still the top floor, the only place Dante could be in were any of the floors below us. And if I could kill a giant, radioactive bird with my nuclear beam, then destroying a few floors shouldn''t be hard at all! With the final fragments of the forcefield absorbed, I immediately started charging up my attack, hands next to each other, small green orbs circling near my palms. Then, with a thunderous boom, my attack obliterated the floor beneath me¨Cnot including where the Radius were standing. I fell through the hole I created and landed on the 98th floor, scaring off every person that was on that floor. Though, out of the many people rushing through me to get to the stairs, there was one person there that caught my eye without any hesitation. The man who started this whole damn journey and took the one thing that I cared about away from me. Dante Williams! He was standing just across from me¨Ca forcefield next to him containing¡­my daughter! Inside the shimmering dome of the forcefield, she sat hunched, her body shrunken and slack, as if even the act of breathing took effort. Her skin was pale, head leaning forward. I knew my instinct as a dad told me I needed to run over to her side and get her to safety, but my emotions were still dulled by that woman¡¯s ability. So when I saw Sunshine, I had a more ¡°Oh, great. I found her "rather than a ¡°I have to save her!¡± ¡°Jerome! Believe me when I say that I have a lot more left to lose today then you do! So why don¡¯t you do something useful in your life for once and stand still.¡± ¡°And let my daughter get killed by your little group while I¡¯m in there? Not happening?¡± This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. Dante raised an eyebrow. ¡°Kill your daughter? The hell are you talking about?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t act dumb. The contagious disease Sunshine has that could kill anyone infected by it? Doesn¡¯t that ring a bell? Now that I think about it, you were boasting so much about how you could kill her instantly but I¡¯m surprised you haven¡¯t done that yet.¡± ¡°I¡®ve got no idea what you¡¯re babbling about but the plan was never to kill this kid. At least, I was never told to do so.¡± The moment he said this, Dante slapped his hand over his mouth¡ªhis face confused. What did he mean he wasn¡¯t supposed to kill her? After all the trouble those guys upstairs went through to tell me why they wanted to kill Sunshine and now apparently, none of that was true!? Am I being tricked right now? ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Dante?¡± I said, cracking a smile in my mind. ¡°I haven¡¯t punched you in the face yet so what¡¯re you in pain for?¡± ¡°Shut up!¡± He raised his hand to the ceiling and at that moment, dust and debris washed over me, clouding my vision. I glanced up and realized that the remnants of a forcefield were above me, pieces of brick falling onto my face as I did. That bastard was too clever for his own good! I bolted through the dust cloud and was about to begin my attack when I noticed that Dante had vanished. Suddenly, I was encased once more in another forcefield. ¡°Not only are you a pathetic father, you¡¯re also prone to falling for the easiest tricks in the book!¡± I whirled around and saw Dante, sitting cross legged on Sunshine¡¯s bubble. ¡°Now that this is over with, I¡¯ll call to have my guys get you.¡± ¡°Hey, let me ask you something. What are you people actually gonna do with Sunshine?¡± ¡°You know, you seem to be more calm nowadays. I expected you to try and break through my ability with your fists and fail miserably.¡± Dante took out his status board which looked like an actual cell phone now. ¡°And don¡¯t worry about this little brat. The last thing we need is her dead.¡± He covered his mouth again, as if he regretted saying that just now. ¡°And why¡¯s that?¡± I asked, discreetly placing my fingertips on the forcefield. He uncovered his mouth. ¡°Are you really that oblivious? Your daughter is a radius like you. She can alter and change the molecular structure of your brain to make you do or say things you don¡¯t actually want to do. Hell, even make you act like a whole new¡­Gah! What the hell is happe¡­A whole new-No!¡± I shifted my attention to my daughter and, to my surprise, there was an aura of green energy around her head that disappeared and returned every time Dante tried to get a word in. Dante clenched his skull, sweat dripping down to his shiny black shoes. ¡°This stupid bitch is ruining everything, dammit! We plan on studying her-No! Studying her brain to see how we can¡­That¡¯s enough!¡± Before I could finish absorbing his forcefield, Dante chucked Sunshine out one of the broken windows¡ªhis ability thankfully still active around her. Even after witnessing my own child fall out of a skyscraper, I already had plenty of reason to believe she wouldn¡¯t be killed. And it wasn¡¯t just ¡®cause of that power of his. Sunshine was using some special ability to make Dante say all those important things and I had the strong belief she did that knowingly to help me. She looked so out of it and yet, she knew I was here. I was sure of it. I couldn¡¯t let this newfound knowledge go to waste giving into anger or irrationally trying to save her now. The only thing I needed to worry about was the enemy in front of me. The enemy that just surrounded his body with a forcefield. I really dislike that old hag but I¡¯ll have to give it to her. That ¡°healing¡± power of hers was damn useful! Even if I was a bit out of character. ¡°Hey, Dante. You ready?¡± I began to increase the speed of my ability. ¡°I¡¯m going to kill you now.¡± Dante scoffed. ¡°Give it your best shot, father of the year!¡± Chapter 10: A Zombie vs A Human! A zombie battling a human in order to save another human. Ironic considering zombies have been terrorizing the Earth for ten whole years. Devouring any human they could get their hands on. Flooding every city and town with their unintentional determination and persistence. Well, those mindless monsters weren''t the only thing determined to do something they were created to do. I had a kid to save and a guy that seriously needed his ass beat. Whatever a ¡°Radius¡± was, that title was the only reason we were still alive, and unfortunately for Dante, he had to fight us with that fact in mind. Although, calling this a ¡°fight¡± was an overstatement considering the guy was currently sprinting down the hallway. Dante ran like he had rockets strapped to his feet, dodging left and right as I hurled random objects at him. Potted plants, chairs, even a damn table! I threw everything I could see but he twisted and ducked, moving mere inches out of the way. Throughout the entire chase, one question lingered heavily in my mind. Why was he running? If he just activated a forcefield around himself, he wouldn¡¯t need to worry about my fist destroying his sharp ass jaw. Or my foot going through his balls! If I remembered correctly, ever since a couple days ago, Dante has only ever used two forcefields. When he jumped down through the Underground entrance, he purposely kept me submitted with one bubble while he kept the one around Sunshine. He didn¡¯t use one for himself. Even when I confronted him here on the 98th floor, he never had a forcefield around him. Was his limit only two? But if that¡¯s the case then¡­why wasn¡¯t he using one now? I was sure he hadn¡¯t seen my new absorption technique as he was still quite shaken up from my daughter¡¯s new power and I was already out by the time he regained his composure. He couldn¡¯t have anticipated I would absorb his ability too quickly for him to handle. Maybe he had something up his sleeve, planning to use it on me at any moment. In any case, the best way to deal with that new mystery was to deal with Dante, who¡­ had just jumped out a window! Without hesitation, I bolted after him, leaping out the window as well. For a moment, all I felt was a rush of air and the shock of the sheer drop beneath me. I knew I had just jumped out of a skyscraper, but it didn¡¯t occur to me how high 98 floors actually was. What shocked me a little more was Dante, a few feet below me, smirking, as if he¡¯s done this a million times before. The asshole even had the nerve make a very rude gesture at me! Wait! That wasn¡¯t the middle finger¡­He was holding something! A green orb the size of a tennis ball was between his fingers and the man proceeded to toss it over to me, an ominous aura radiating off of it. Suddenly, the ball grew to the size of one of Dante¡¯s forcefields and, in a flash of light, dispersed as a zombie emerged from it. But it wasn''t just any normal zombie. The moment it grabbed onto my neck, I immediately felt this strong pain surge through me. A pain that only the Radius and that big bird, Jerry, could make me feel. The zombie¡¯s hands along with the rest of its body were composed of rotten flesh, its eyeball drooping out of the socket like a tongue hanging out a dog¡¯s mouth. Despite its decayed appearance, the strength in its arms were surprisingly high, flinging me back up with one throw. No, this wasn¡¯t a normal zombie at all. This thing was a Type Two Radion like me! Shit! So this is what he was using that second forcefield for. As I began to descend back down, I saw Dante slowly ascending while on top of a bubble¡ªSunshine levitating behind him. After an overconfident laugh that was pretty standard for him at this point, he shouted ¡°Enjoy fighting that thing while I watch safely from the sidelines! I¡¯m sure it¡¯ll have you begging for mercy in no time!¡± If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. Fighting like a damn coward. I should''ve kno- The thought was barely complete before something hard and fast slammed into my stomach like a runaway train, sending bolts of pain through my bones. Then, I was airborne¨Cspiraling away from the Radius¡¯ skyscraper. I looked down and realized it was that damn zombie, its head lodged into my abdomen. Just as we were about to crash onto the roof of a building, I used the energy I absorbed from before to activate my rocket boost ability. It took determination and a whole lot of willpower to turn my body around¨Cenough so that the monster¡¯s back was facing the roof. I gripped its back with all my might, despite the peeling skin threatening to slip from my grasp. With great force, we collided with the building¡¯s roof. Fortunately, we didn¡¯t break through the entire thing as I managed to dissipate some of the energy¡¯s power before the crater could become a hole. To my dismay, even that wasn''t enough to put the zombie down for good as it began to dig through my eye holes, blocking my vision. ¡°I¡¯m sure you''re already aware by now considering you''re one yourself,¡± sneered Dante, his voice coming from above. ¡°but you can''t just kill that thing with an attack like that. It''s a type two Radion, fool. It can''t feel any pain.¡± I chose to ignore Dante¡¯s mockery and focus on ripping through the radion¡¯s mossy colored skin, but like the asshole said, the thing didn¡¯t feel an ounce of what I did. It was weird fighting a zombie up close and personal like this. Any human knew something doing this was pretty much suicide unless they had some special crazy martial art skills that would only be useful in a zombie apocalypse. But even that was dangerous considering all the radioactive ooze oozing out of its- Wait¡­that¡¯s it! Every zombie I¡¯ve encountered so far all had something in common. The radioactive ooze in their body. And this type two Radion wasn¡¯t any different as I felt its essence spill onto my hands. I knew exactly what I had to do. I pierced my fingers fully through its arms and activated my ability, the ooze entering through my fingers. It was at that moment that I underwent some kind of transformation. My bones began to protrude from my body, like a suit of armor protecting my true form. Energy flared up from my triceps and even the top of my skull. And to top it all off, the radioactive essence I took in lined up my entire body, giving me the vascularity of an absolutely shredded bodybuilder. A powerful strength flowed through me and all of¡­this came from me absorbing my own species. While I didn''t have a heart anymore, something was still beating inside of my chest, telling me to finish this fight once and for all. Ordering me to do the one thing I told myself I was gonna do. As I ripped my fingers out of the now immobile zombie¡¯s arms, I noticed a strange silence in the area. Dante¡¯s annoying cackle or stupid words weren''t there anymore. I looked up and my fingers twitched. He was gone! My instincts kicked in and I glanced towards the skyscraper, somehow knowing where he''d be. Sure enough, he was standing on one of his forcefields, flying towards the 99th floor. The guy didn''t even look back at me¡­did he seriously think that would stop me!? The energy sitting on top of my body burned bright with intensity as I crouched down and flexed my legs. Then, I jumped, a shockwave tearing apart the building¡¯s head from the sheer force. I shot through the air, charging a nuclear-powered fist until I finally reached Dante, whose eyes widened the second I came into his view. The coward tried to drop into his bubble, but he only got halfway through before I forcefully slammed my fist against his ability. Embers trailed off my arm, crackling energy dancing around his forcefield. With a little more effort, I knocked Dante out of my sight, destroying the 98th floor¡¯s wall and sending him rolling across the floor until he stopped at the other end. The scream he made right before my attack was like music to my ears. And I needed to hear more. I rocketed myself to the inside of the building and took a couple steps through. He dropped my daughter¡¯s forcefield near the hole I made so I hopefully didn''t need to worry about her. Only him. Dante was leaning on a wall and it looked like blood was all over his face. He breathed quickly and heavily. Breaths that got quicker once he realized I was across from him. I steadied my stance, planting my feet firmly as I cupped my hands at my side, fingers trembling with the nuclear energy building between my palms. Miniature orbs gathered into a single, large ball at the center of my hands, pulsing in the same rhythm as the mysterious beating in my chest. It illuminated the entire floor with this fierce green hue as it grew heavier the more I held it. It was hard to maintain but I needed it to be the strongest it could be in the moment Dante decided to use another forcefield. To break through it was all I needed to do! He struggled to crawl away¨Chis leg possibly injured. That was good. There was no need to aim then. ¡°Hey Dante! Were you ever a fan of those Saturday Morning shows from back in the day!? This next attack takes a little inspiration from that!¡± I thrust my hand forward and echoed. ¡°Fatherly Beam!¡± The energy exploded out in a roaring beam, its force shaking the ground and lighting up everything in its path. It tore through the air and eventually reached Dante, seemingly obliterating him out of sight and eviscerating the wall behind him as well. Well then, it''s about damn time! Chapter 11: Jason Can Speak Normally!? ¡°Hey Sunshine,¡± I whispered, gently nudging her shoulder. ¡°Suuuuunshiiiine, wake up already, please. I really need you to.¡± After a couple more seconds of shaking and the fear in my mind increasing, my daughter¡¯s eyes fluttered open. She licked her lips and said, "Why¡­does my mouth¡­taste like blood?¡± I sighed in relief. ¡°Because there''s blood in your mouth. Here, I''ll get that for you.¡± I wiped the red liquid off her face and then playfully shook her curly hair. ¡°Jerome¡­?¡± she asked cautiously, slowly sitting up. ¡°That''s you, right?¡± I gave a thumbs up. ¡°Yeah, it''s your amazing, brave, daring dad who absolutely destroyed the enemy and got you to safety.¡± ¡°You look really different.¡± Her eyes widened in what looked to be excitement. ¡°You look so¡­cool!¡± I quickly covered her mouth and made a ¡°Shh¡± noise to her. It was then that she realized where we were now. After I defeated Dante, I immediately grabbed Sunshine, whose forcefield had finally vanished, and carried her out of the Radius¡¯ headquarters. It took a bit longer than I had hoped it would due to the number of panicking citizens everywhere, but I eventually found the best hiding spot to hide my daughter. A little boy¡¯s bedroom! Thankfully, the kid was already asleep once Sunshine woke up. ¡°There¡¯s someone in here sleeping in that bed over there so could you please keep your fangirling to a minimum?¡± I asked, removing my hand from her mouth. Sunshine nodded and then scanned the room¨Cin awe of everything as if it was the greatest thing she¡¯d ever seen in her entire life. The poster of a costumed superhero on the wall with a bat symbol in the middle. A couple of school trophies, labeled with the name Johnny, lined up on the shelf. A giant status board on the wall that looked like the TVs in the Radius building. Everything a normal kid would have¡­maybe not the giant TV though. Her brown eyes sparkled even in the darkness of the room, only illuminated by the green light emanating from my body. ¡°Wow. Is this one of those¡­bedrooms I¡¯ve heard about? This looks cool.¡± ¡°Oh, yeah. But you don¡¯t want any of this, right? You¡¯re an apocalypse lover, after all.¡± ¡°I mean¡­yeah, the apocalypse is cool and all but this¡­I don¡¯t know.¡± She furrowed her brows, conflicted about what she¡¯d say next. ¡°Sometimes, sleeping in a cave all day can get pretty rough on my back.¡± ¡°Oh¡­um. Let¡¯s see then.¡± I looked at the large bed where the boy was sleeping. It had a blue blanket with a ton of black bat symbols on it. ¡°I know. We¡¯ll just take that kid¡¯s bed and-¡± ¡°What?¡± my daughter cut off, nearly forgetting to keep her voice down. ¡°We can¡¯t do that. Now that I think about it, what are we doing here in the first place? I thought you said you got me to safety.¡± ¡°This is safe. Or at least safer than where we were before. But to sum up our current problem, let¡¯s just say a few strong guys are scouting the city, looking for us.¡± ¡°And you decided that hiding in a bedroom was a good idea?¡± she said, flashing one of her patented raised eyebrows at me. ¡°Oh, we¡¯ll be fine. There¡¯s no way anyone would find-¡± ¡°Uh¡­who are you people?¡± Me and Sunshine jumped, immediately turning our heads to see where the voice came from. The boy had woken up and his expression of fear turned into one of excitement and curiosity the moment he laid his eyes on me. ¡°Woooah! You¡¯re a superhero,¡± he exclaimed, jumping off his bed and approaching me. I raised my palm at the boy, signaling for him to stop. ¡°Hey, kid. Stop making so much noise, or else you¡¯ll wake up your parents.¡± The boy stopped a couple inches away from me, wiping his snot on his blue pajamas. ¡°Why can¡¯t I wake my mom and dad? They always take a pic-pic of me when I do something new. And I never spoke to a superhero before!¡± I slapped my forehead in frustration. How could I forget how dumb kids were? ¡°Listen, I¡¯m not-¡± ¡°He¡¯s not¡­an evil villain,¡± Sunshine blurted out. ¡°He¡¯s a really strong superhero.¡± ¡°Really?¡± the boy asked, joyfully hopping. ¡°I knew it!¡± ¡°Yeah, yeah.¡± Sunshine approached him and bent down. ¡°And we''re hiding from your parents in your room because we''re playing hide and seek. You, me, and my dad. So it would be pretty bad if your parents caught you playing when you''re supposed to be sleeping, right?¡± ¡°Oh yeah, that makes sense.¡± Hearing this, she patted the kid¡¯s head. ¡°Good. So just be quiet so we can keep playing. My dad only plays with nice kids who follow the rules so keep doing that and we¡¯ll play.¡± Wow. I can¡¯t believe Sunshine was out-parenting an actual parent on dealing with a kid. This isn¡¯t just a little intelligence. She reminded me of¡­her mother.If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. His blue eyes shimmered. ¡°Woah, that superhero is your dad?¡± he said, his voice finally low. ¡°Yeah. Pretty cool, right?¡± ¡°Super cool. How is he? What¡¯s it like having a superhero as a dad?¡± I still couldn¡¯t understand how that kid could look at me with those innocent eyes and think I was the coolest thing he¡¯d ever seen. I mean, I¡¯m a zombie!? He can see that, right? I guess if he was living underground his whole life, he would¡¯ve never seen one before. But comparing me to one of those actual heroes like the one on his poster and the stack of comic books on his desk was just flat out wrong. After all, my daughter only had until the end of the year to live and I was the reason for it. Who cares if some nuclear bomb was the source of it when all those pills and other drugs I kept feeding her only made it worse. I was worse than some fictional evil villain. I was a bad father. A horrible one. That was definitely what Sunshine thought of- ¡°I think he¡¯s pretty great at what he does.¡± Her words shone a light in my mind, illuminating the cave of dark thoughts that intruded in there. ¡°Sometimes, he can be a little annoying but¡­¡± My daughter looked back at me, and for the first time in a while, she smiled at me. ¡°I think he¡¯s a good dad.¡± Seriously!? After everything that¡¯s happened so far, she still thinks that? Geez, I just might cry again. I stood up and quietly walked over to the two. I then bent down and said, ¡°Sorry if I was a little mean before uh¡­Johnny? We¡¯d love to talk with you more, but we really need to leave. I have¡­¡± I looked at Sunshine. ¡°We have superhero work to get done. This girl¡¯s my sidekick.¡± ¡°Why do I have to be the sidekick?¡± she asked, sounding genuinely confused by her fake role. ¡°Because I¡¯m your father and therefore, I¡¯m better than you. Also, I¡¯m the only one who fights.¡± ¡°Awww. Do you guys really have to go? Can I come?¡± Sunshine shook around the kid¡¯s curly hair. ¡°You can¡¯t come on this adventure. You still gotta get your sleep ¡®cause sleep is very important. But next time, we¡¯ll definitely take you to beat up some bad guys, right, Da-Jerome?¡± ¡°Sleep is important¡± is rich coming from the girl who followed me all the way to Woodshaven and caught me hooking up with some girls¡­ ¡°Right. And if you¡¯re ever in trouble and you need my help, I¡¯ll-¡± The wall of the bedroom burst open, causing dust and rubble to wash over us as it filled the room. Instinctively, I embraced Sunshine, shielding her from the debris. To my surprise, Johnny somehow moved away in time before anything could hurt him, clinging onto my back. ¡°Sit on the chair behind you, and don¡¯t move or make any noise.¡± Despite looking no older than five years old, the boy now had the voice of maybe a ten year old. It freaked me out for a second until he repeated the order again, which I quickly followed. For some reason, Sunshine had been rendered unconscious and there was green aura radiating from her head. Was she using her ability, right now!? As soon as I sat on the chair, the dust cleared, and a large figure entered the room through the giant hole. It was Jason, wielding a bloody machete that looked like it had just been used. In an instant, he caught sight of me and stomped towards me, yelling ¡°Syphilis¡± as he did. Then, Johnny jumped in front of him and spread his arms out. ¡°Hey, what are you doing in my room?¡± Johnny pointed at me and Sunshine. ¡°You can¡¯t just barge in while I¡¯m having play time with my toys. That¡¯s rude!¡± Jason stared at us, then stared at the boy. ¡°Decapitation?¡± he said, tilting his head. ¡°You don¡¯t believe me? Here, I¡¯ll show you!¡± The boy ran up to us and whispered ¡°Use a little bit of your power when I touch your leg.¡± He pressed his finger against my knee and said ¡°Watch this, big guy! This thing has rocket blasters.¡± Taking that as a secret message, I shot out my energy through my calves¨Csmall enough so that it wouldn¡¯t blast me forward. ¡°You see? Pretty cool, right?¡± asked Johnny, walking back to the hockey masked man. ¡® Shockingly, Jason gave a thumbs up, assumingly falling for the trick we just did. I guess it made sense considering I had a pretty different form since the last time I¡¯ve seen him. And since he didn¡¯t seem to notice that the girl on my lap was Sunshine, I¡¯ll just assume he¡¯s never seen her before. ¡°Alright, now that that¡¯s settled¡­¡± Johnny placed his hand on the man¡¯s leg. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t you get going now? Before my parents get here.¡± An eerie silence settled over the room, making each second stretch unbearably long. I was worried he¡¯d hear the sound of my daughter¡¯s heartbeat or breathing, but Jason didn¡¯t say a word. In fact, his attention was only on the little boy. Then, the silence was shattered by a faint dripping sound¡ªJason''s drool trickling from his mouth, landing with a soft splat on the wooden floor. His eyes were feral and his breaths were heavy¨Cheavy enough to blow Johnny¡¯s hair like it was the wind on the surface. Then, unexpectedly, he spoke. ¡°It¡¯s been a very¡­very long time since I¡¯ve killed a little weakling like you.¡± Wh-What the hell? This is the first time he doesn¡¯t speak like a maniac and his first actual sentence was something only a maniac would say! ¡°What¡­¡± whimpered Johnny, his body shaking. Jason tightened the grip on his weapon, fresh blood dripping off of it. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, little one. I just can¡¯t really control myself sometimes, that¡¯s all. The guys¡¯ll be mad if I add a third kill to the list but it¡¯s their fault for not letting me finish my battle with that Radion.¡± ¡°I-I¡¯ll call my pare-¡± ¡°I killed your parents already.¡± Jason poked his machete on Johnny¡¯s forehead. ¡°I wonder how I¡¯ll carve you up¡­No, I have to find that missing Radion and the kid. But maybe¡­¡± Shit. That kid¡¯s definitely gonna die. No doubt about it. There¡¯s no way I could save him right now even if I wanted to. I¡­have to protect my daughter. Save her. Yeah, exactly! I-I-I can¡¯t save him. I mean¡­Sunshine was using her power on him so clearly this is what she planned, right!? No, she wouldn¡¯t plan for a kid to get murdered there¡¯s no way! After all that talk about me being a hero, she- The kid stared at me with this terrified look, eyes watering. What the hell am I thinking!? Move! Get the fuck off this chair and save him! Sunshine will be fine, right? They called me their her- It was too late for me to save him as Jason had already chopped off the boy¡¯s head, sending it flying through the air until it hit the wall next to me. And for a moment, it looked like Johnny had reverted back to his old self. I had no time to process what happened right in front of me before Jason shifted his attention back towards me, wiping the drool off his face with his camo jacket¡¯s sleeve. ¡°Decapitation!?¡± Chapter 12: Getting the Hell out of Here! Ever since becoming a zombie, the strangest part of it all was not having any of my internal organs anymore. The inside of my body was just a hollow void, occupied only by my skeleton. However, there was one advantage I could think of to being less human than before, and that was how fast, how loud, my heart would be pounding if it were still in my chest. The goal of protecting my daughter allowed me to push through the fear of fighting all those enemies, but that didn¡¯t mean it erased that feeling entirely. So when I looked into the crimson eyes of Jason, staring at us as if he had just found his prey, I was thankful I didn¡¯t have a beating heart. Thankful I couldn¡¯t breathe. Because I knew that psycho only had one goal in mind at the moment. Listen for another sign of life. That was gonna be a problem considering my daughter was asleep, unbeknownst to the danger standing in front of us as she slowly inhaled and exhaled. To my surprise though, Jason didn''t seem to notice it at all, instead shifting his attention to Johnny¡¯s severed hand on the floor next to me. The boy¡¯s lifeless eyes were locked on me and I didn''t dare take a look back at them. The man approached the head, a surge of murderous aura increasing with each step he took. That¡¯s when a realization dawned on me. If this murderer was willing to put an end to three innocent civilians from his own city, imagine what he¡¯d try to do with my daughter! The guy just murdered a child for no reason other than to quell some sick desire. According to Dante, the Radius never intended to kill my daughter in the first place, but why would he carry around a machete if that was the case? Then again, he could still do some painful things to her without necessarily killing her. Even with this new form of mine, I wasn¡¯t sure I could defeat someone as strong as Jason. Especially with Sunshine still- Jason towered over me, his sheer presence dimming the light radiating from my body. His eyes narrowed as he flaunted Johnny''s head at me, twirling the kid¡¯s hair around his finger. Almost everything in me told me to run. Except for the tiny part that kept screaming ¡°Punch him now!¡± Well, that tiny part was gonna need to shut up because there was no way I was going to risk my daughter¡¯s life for some kid I talked to for a couple minutes. A kid that¡­I could¡¯ve saved. If I had just mov- Drip For a second, I thought that familiar sound was Dante¡¯s saliva spilling from his mouth. But I was wrong. Jason was crouched down close to the unconscious Sunshine and had dragged the tip of his blade across her cheek. My child¡¯s¡­blood. My child¡¯s blood! The world around me froze for a single second and then¡­broke. A roar erupted from my mouth, echoing across the room. It shook the trophies, blew away the comic books, and even shattered the one window in the boy¡¯s room. The force of my voice pushed back Jason quite a bit, but swiftly regained his footing and lunged at me, his machete aimed at my skull. But before the tip of his weapon could even touch me, I thrusted my fist straight into his jaw, the shockwave of the attack rupturing the room as the energy on my arm pushed it even further. His skin felt rock solid and his body didn¡¯t waver, but a thick boulder wasn¡¯t enough to contain the rage of a father who had just seen his kid get hurt. With the fire igniting inside my imaginary heart, flames dancing on top of my body, I released the majority of my stored nuclear energy in one burst. It expanded and expanded even further until it encased Jason entirely. Then, with a gigantic boom, the child murderer was blasted away by the explosion, obliterating the wall behind him. Despite my brutal attack, I couldn¡¯t stay to continue the battle. For Sunshine¡¯s sake, I needed to get the hell out of here! I began to channel my ability through my feet, scorching the wooden floor as I ascended into the air. Just as I was about to escape through the hole Jason had created, the masked man suddenly burst back through the hole I¡¯d punched him through and tackled me. His unexpected entrance threw me off balance, causing me to lose control of my rocket feet and crash through the wall behind me. We zoomed through the air, tearing off traffic lights and skidding off buildings while bricks rained down on all the terrified civilians. I made sure to cover my daughter''s head through all the chaos, tightly clenching Jason¡¯s face, hoping that would make him let go. But the guy was unyielding, drooling in my mouth as tried to stab Sunshine. Eventually, we slammed into a random alleyway, forming yet another created in the Underground city. Luckily for my daughter, my back was facing downwards the entire time, so she didn¡¯t take any damage once we hit the ground. Unluckily for me, the psycho still wasn¡¯t finished; his hands were now wrapped around my neck. The energy I had taken from Dante¡¯s forcefield had unfortunately run out, forced to lie there as the manic failed to kill me. At that moment, I heard crackling above me. I turned my focus to the sky and I saw something¡­green. A green light plummeting toward us. Then, Jason stopped, releasing his hold on my neck. His pupils were dilated and his spiky hair now looked even spikier than before. ¡°You idiot!¡± yelled a familiar voice. ¡°Who the hell said we were supposed to kill them?¡± Jason dropped on top of me and I never realized how heavy this guy was. Probably heavier now that he¡¯s unconscious. While I struggled pushing him off me for a few seconds, I was finally able to get him off.If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. I sat up, massaging my pained neck. ¡°That guy was so-¡± ¡°Strong?¡± I looked up and realized Kofi was looking down on me. ¡°You¡¯re lucky I came here before he killed that brat of yours. It probably would¡¯ve happened soon,¡± he laughed. ¡°I would never let that happen. I¡¯m already a shitty dad,¡± I said sadly. ¡°Letting her die like that would¡¯ve just cemented that.¡± Kofi scoffed and stepped back. ¡°The hell? You expecting me to deny that self-insult and reassure you that you¡¯re the ¡®best father in the whole wide world¡¯? Well, guess what? I don¡¯t give a shit about your parenting problems. I¡¯m only here to give you some good and bad news.¡± How did beating myself up over making some bad decisions mean I wanted him to reassure me!? Also, does he not notice my new form? ¡°Tell me the bad news fi-¡± ¡°Nope! I''ll just start with the good news!¡± He folded his arms in a child-like confidence ¡°Good news is¡­the Radius themselves have decided to call off their capture of you.¡± I jumped to my feet in excitement. ¡°Really? That''s good! So, that means we''re sa-¡± ¡°No,¡± he cut off. ¡°It doesn''t mean you''re safe. All I said are the Radius members you saw in our building, including me unfortunately, aren''t gonna capture you two at this point in time.¡± I wiped the blood off Sunshine''s cheek. ¡°But weren''t you guys pretty serious about my daughter¡¯s disease and how it''ll start a whole new apocalypse or something like that?¡± ¡°You already heard it from Dante, didn''t you? The dumbass had his speaker open on his status board the whole time and we heard everything he said. You already know what she is and why we''re not gonna kill her¡­yet.¡± ¡°Yet!? Does my daughter have an infectious disease or not?¡± I asked, holding Sunshine closer. ¡°Yes she does. But she''s a Radius so we have to keep her alive for a little longer.¡± ¡°What the hell is a ¡®Radius¡±? Why do you people keep calling Sunshine and me that word!? We''ve been called that word for days now and I still don''t understand what it is yet. Is it like people with superpowers?¡± ¡°Listen, man, I never really paid attention that much when they told me about it the first time. But from what I understood, a Radius is someone whose ability can ¡®fix the effects¡¯ of the apocalypse from all those nuclear bombs. I don''t know what your kid¡¯s ability specifically is though. It''s like some mind changing shit. All the scientists there want to study her brain and find something useful out of it.¡± ¡°I won''t let that happen,¡± I asserted. ¡°But you already know that, I''m sure.¡± Kofi chuckled, electricity circling around his dreads. ¡°Yeah, now that''s the Radion I wanted to hear. Someone crazy enough to try and fight all of us Radius at once and think he has a chance of winning. You know that''ll be pretty hard considering you''re the one they really want to capture.¡± ¡°Huh? Why''s that?¡± ¡°I don''t know the exact details but I noticed something whenever they talked about you specifically. When Daemon and Granny Teresa talked about recruiting Jason and a few other people you haven''t met, they said those guys we''re going to fix the effects of the apocalypse. But with you, they only said fix the apocalypse.¡± ¡°That doesn''t really sound that different.¡± ¡°Like I said, I''m not really about all that sciency technical shit they talk about in there. Take my words however you wanna take ¡®em.¡± It really didn''t sound like much of a difference. I guess it has something to do with my absorption ability but how would that ¡°fix the apocalypse¡±. From what other people have told me, other states and even countries are still in the ¡°extreme winter¡± stages. Then you have others which are basically just uninhabitable. I can''t fix any of that! ¡°I¡¯d be lying if I said I understood fully but anyways, tell me the bad ne-¡± ¡°Time for the bad news!¡± he interrupted once again. ¡°Remember when I said there were a few other Radius members you haven''t met yet? Well, those members are allowed to go after you. Unluckily for you, none of them live down here. And since I assume you''re going back to the surface somehow, you''re gonna have to face them once they find you. How does that sound?¡± He asked me that last question with a smile on his face, like he already knew what my answer would be. ¡°I guess it sounds like I''ll have some more assholes to beat down to a bloody pulp! Should be a lot easier with this new transformation I got.¡± Kofi raised an eyebrow, running a hand through his hair. ¡°What transformation are you talking about? You look exactly the same since the last time I saw you. Or is this one of those ¡®I transformed mentally¡¯ kind of things?¡± Huh? I looked at my body and¡­Kofi was right! My skeleton had retreated back to the inside of the radioactive ooze. Well, that power didn''t last long. Where the hell am I gonna find another one of those Type Two Radions!? ¡°I think there''s something else I''m supposed to tell you.¡± He paused for a couple seconds, intensely trying to remember whatever it was he had to tell me. ¡°You know what? Remembering kinda hurts my brain. Let''s just assume I told you everything I already knew.¡± He better not have forgotten something actually important¡­ ¡°Ok, I get you telling me how to better use my ability so I could beat Dante¡¯s ass since you don''t like the guy, but why tell me all of this? Are you not on their side?¡± Kofi cackled. ¡°Like I told you in the elevator. I want to see how far things can be broken. When you''re forced to live underground for so long, you tend to start seeking more than what you already have. You''re the only thing I''ve met that holds the capacity to ruin the world as we know it, keeping that dying kid with you. I want to see how far you''ll go. I want to indulge in your chaos and strip you away from your goals as painfully as possible. Maybe you''ll do the same with me. Who knows?¡± I stepped back a few inches, creeped out by his ominous threat. ¡°I''m not as crazy as you think I am, Kofi. I''m just a father trying to protect his daughter.¡± ¡°If I had a tier list on me, I''d put that description of you on S tier. Just right before a man who has nothing left to lose.¡± I stepped back a couple more inches. ¡°You know, if I''m gonna be doing all the things you think I''m going to do, then you should tell me how to get the hell out of here already.¡± ¡°Why don''t we just go back the way we came?¡± I looked down and the dark cloud over my mind cleared when I saw Sunshine had finally woken up. ¡°Hey, you''re back! It''s about time!¡± ¡°What do you mean I''m back?¡± she asked, dropping down to the ground. ¡°I''ve been here the whole time, right?¡± ¡°Yeah, but you were like¡­unconscious for a bit.¡± ¡°Again? Why am I always out cold? And¡­Ow!¡± She carefully caressed her bloody cheek. ¡°How many times am I gonna wake up with blood somewhere on me!¡± ¡°She''s right, Radion. If you use that flying ability you got, you can just fly through that giant hole up there.¡± He pointed up to the sky. ¡°Don''t know if you two can see it, but there''s a faint trace of nuclear and radioactive energy. Keep following that and you''ll make it eventually.¡± ¡°Ah, I just noticed that,¡± I said, looking up. ¡°Thanks. But I¡¯ve run out of energy to use so-¡± ¡°Don¡¯t thank me. And I already gave you some juice when I shocked the big guy back there. Just enough so that you can fly out of here.¡± He summoned a bolt of electricity shaped like a lightning bolt hoverboard. ¡°Hurry up and get stronger, Radion!¡± he shouted, riding out into the sky. I gotta admit¡­he''s crazy. Really crazy. And yet, something about his expression when he was explaining his motives to me¡­it reminded me of Sunshine¡¯s face when she talked about wanting a bedroom. ¡°All right, Sunshine. It¡¯s about damn time we get out of here, right?¡± She didn¡¯t respond. ¡°Sunshine, I said-¡± ¡°That guy is¡­really cute.¡± ¡°Wh-Wh-What!?¡± Chapter 13: A Sword User with a Horse Head!? ¡°Alright, Jerome! This is¡­the third time we¡¯re doing this! I think it''s been hours and I''d like to stop doing this.¡± ¡°Don''t worry, Sunshine! The third time¡¯s the charm.¡± I aimed my fingers at the three zombies that me and Sunshine had restrained to a tree with some leftover rope and fired three bullets of radioactive energy. Once again, I missed all of my shots, instead implanting three darkened holes in the thick three. ¡°Well¡­,¡± I said, reeling back my arm. ¡°Guess the fourth time¡¯s actually the charm, huh?¡± ¡°What!? There¡¯s no way we¡¯re doing this again! It took so long just to get these radions over here.¡± Sunshine looked at the sky. ¡°And it¡¯s about to get dark out here. Don''t you think we should go ho-¡± Suddenly, she began to cough, immediately covering her mouth with her hoodie sleeve. ¡°Hey, you ok!?¡± I asked, patting her back. ¡°Ye-Yeah,¡± she answered, regaining her composure. ¡°Look, I get why we¡¯re doing this. You have to get stronger before more of those guys come and find us, but it feels like we¡¯re getting nowhere with this whole ¡®cure¡¯ plan. You¡¯ve been distracted by something lately.¡± Sunshine wasn¡¯t wrong unfortunately. It¡¯s been a few days since we left the Underground City and I haven¡¯t made any meaningful progress in finding a cure for her. It¡¯s not like I didn¡¯t want to search. It¡¯s just that there were more cons in doing that now than actual pros. For starters, I couldn¡¯t just walk into any civilization looking like this. I¡¯m a zombie now for crying out loud! And if I remembered correctly, Kofi did imply that the Radius were associated with the Resource Adventurers on the surface. If they called someone as strong and as demonic as Jason, then I don¡¯t know if I¡¯d be able to beat them. That maniac would¡¯ve destroyed me if it weren¡¯t for Kofi! ¡°Jerome!¡± screamed my daughter, pointing at the tree. The zombies had broken free of their restraints, sluggishly approaching us with rope still hanging around their neck. The knot that held them together had been destroyed by something¡ªmy radioactive bullet. I rushed towards them, ignoring my mistake and readying my fist. Then, with ease, I knocked off each of their heads, splattering them across the ground in a pool of green blood. ¡°Good looking out,¡± I complimented, walking back to my kid¡¯s side. ¡°I wasn¡¯t paying attention. Sorry.¡± ¡°Nah, it¡¯s fine,¡± she responded, putting on a fearless expression. This brought up another problem I needed to worry about. Sunshine¡­couldn¡¯t fight. Obviously, she had all the basic survival skills that I taught her over the years, but actually fighting wasn¡¯t something I ever thought she needed. We kept to ourselves for the most part so she never really needed a reason to throw a punch or kick someone. I never even taught her how to use a gun¡­ So there were two choices I was faced with: Keep Sunshine somewhere safe while I left to go fix her problem or¡­take her with me. I really didn¡¯t know what to do at the moment. Though, I did know I had to do one thing and that was to refine my ability more. Maybe a newfound strength could make up for her weaknesses. Although, there is that mysterious ability she has¡­ I wonder how we¡¯re gonna get that under control. ¡°You know,¡± said my daughter, interrupting my thought process. ¡°You¡¯ve been really off ever since we got back to the surface. Are you good?¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± I asked, preparing for what she¡¯d say next. ¡°I don¡¯t remember the time between when we were in the kid¡¯s bedroom to right before that cute guy left. Did something¡­bad happen?¡± ¡°No! Nothing bad!¡± I said, walking the corpses of the zombies. ¡°I¡¯m perfectly fine. Just a little tired from all this shooting practice we¡¯ve been doing.¡± ¡°You¡¯re a zombie. You can¡¯t get tired. You don¡¯t have the right parts for that.¡± The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. Damn! Why did she have to be such an apocalypse geek!? ¡°And are you sure nothing¡¯s wrong? You were trying to get headshots on those radions and missed them all completely.¡± ¡°They were moving!¡± I lied, dipping my fingers through the zombie¡¯s ooze. ¡°No, they weren¡¯t! We tied them to a tree and the only thing you hit was our last rope!¡± She approached me, hopping over headless bodies. She then placed a hand on my shoulder and said ¡°I think¡­maybe I have an idea of what¡¯s wrong.¡± ¡°Oh yeah? What¡¯s that big brain of yours thinking?¡± I chuckled. ¡°You¡¯re scared about those Radius guys, right? And how strong they are?¡± ¡°¡­Sure. Ye-Yeah! I¡¯m a little worried about that.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about those losers, alright? You¡¯re a nuclear energy blasting, really terrifying but really cool monster!¡± She gave me a thumbs up. ¡°Plus, you have me by your side so when those guys come, we¡¯ll-¡± ¡°Woah, woah, woah! If you think you¡¯re gonna be fighting, then you¡¯re wrong,¡± I said bluntly. ¡°Huh?¡± she exclaimed, bulging her eyes. ¡°Why not!? I can do it.¡± ¡°No¡­you can¡¯t. It¡¯s too dangerous and you¡¯re just a kid. Just let your strong dad handle everything, ok?¡± ¡°But if we¡¯re going to cure my problem, then don¡¯t you think we need to work-¡± I playfully noogied her head, cutting off her sentence. ¡°Hey!¡± yelled Sunshine, trying to pull my hand off. ¡°We were just having a serious convo here!¡± I freed her from my fatherly grasp. ¡°Sunshine, you have to trust me on this. Kids your age shouldn¡¯t be holding any guns or trying to kill anybody. There are people in this world who have no problem killing girls your age. You saw that with Dante and all his guys.¡± ¡°Then just save me. Like you did with that little boy.¡± She massaged her hair. ¡°What was his name again¡­oh yeah. Johnny! If I get in trouble during a fight, just punch the enemy really hard like you said you did with that mask guy.¡± ¡°¡­Save?¡± ¡°Yeah, duh! You said you saved him, right?¡± I went silent for a bit, staring at her confident smile. Her face slowly shifted to a confused expression once she saw how quiet I was. ¡°Jerome, you did save him, right?¡± Her tone had a bit of worry in it. I hesitated with my answer, debating on whether I should tell her what actually happened or not. Eventually, I decided to tell her¡­something. ¡°Sunshine, I-¡± At that moment, a loud boom echoed across the area, shaking the trees around us as we were showered by leaves. We both turned our hands and were surprised to see a huge emerald explosion bubbling upwards. A second shockwave emerged from the blast, the strong wind nearly toppling Sunshine to the ground. My daughter¡¯s eyes lit up at the chaotic sight. ¡°Woah! What do you think caused that!?¡± ¡°I¡®ve got no idea but we needa get out of here. Now!¡± I thought my ¡°dad voice¡± would get her to listen to me, but she was too amazed by it all to move. ¡°Jerome, we gotta see what¡¯s going on over there! What if one of those leftover bombs from the war detonated over there. We have to go see it. C¡¯mon!¡± ¡°And get yourself killed out there? No! Let''s go!¡± I demanded, reaching for her arm. ¡°Wait!¡± she yelled, sticking her hand up at me. ¡°You said you wanted to do more training, right? Well, that explosion is green and if it¡¯s green that probably means it''s something you can absorb. Don¡¯t you think it¡¯d be easier to go over there instead of walking for another hour back to capture a few radions?¡± Hmm. She was right that I needed to absorb some more energy to train more. And if the bomb had already detonated, then it wouldn¡¯t be too bad to take her there. ¡°Ok, alright,¡± I said in a defeated tone. ¡°But if something goes wrong, we¡¯re leaving immediately, understand?¡± ¡°Yes, yes, yes! Thank you!¡± ***** We crouched low, my arm instinctively wrapped around my daughter as we peered through the thick leaves of a bush. There was a relentless horde of zombies down the hill, ganging on and clawing at some poor soul we couldn¡¯t see out in the field. There was a bunch of radioactive ooze staining the grass so clearly the fighter fought extra hard to survive. Unfortunately for them, it wasn¡¯t enough. At least, that was what I believed until the sight of a man wearing the head of¡­a horse leaped out of the crowd. The only other things he wore were black shoes and tighty whities, letting the air wash over his clothless body. ¡°How is he moving like that with that thing on his head?¡± my daughter whispered to my ear. ¡°I told you there were a bunch of crazies out there,¡± I whispered back. The horse man descended back down to the group and, to my surprise, was able to slash through an entire section of zombies¡ªeven slicing apart the ones that were nowhere near his sword. Then, something even more surprising came into my vision. Mere seconds after he had swung his blade, a giant green flash erupted in the area, disintegrating every zombie in the man¡¯s vicinity. I swiftly shielded Sunshine from the incoming shockwave, the force slamming against my back until it finally weakened and dispersed. A couple moments had passed and I decided it was finally safe for us to look back. ¡°So he was the one who made that explosion. But doesn''t that mean that he''s a-¡± ¡°A Radius,¡± I quickly answered. ¡°That''s it. We''re getting out of here.¡± However, the moment I attempted to sprint out of there, the horse man was already right behind us, aiming his sword at me whilst wiping off some leftover zombie blood on his chest. His horse head wasn''t actually from a horse''s corpse. It was just one of those funny Halloween masks the youngins would wear. ¡°Well, this is new,¡± he said, his voice deeper than I thought it¡¯d be. ¡°A Type 2 Radion kidnapping kids instead of eating them on the spot. You know, that really pisses me off.¡± Huh? Does he not know who we are or is he just messing with me? ¡°You got it all wrong, mister! He¡¯s my-¡± ¡°Don''t worry, little lady! I''ll save you nice and quickly. Neeeeigh!¡± I opened my mouth, ready to say something, but before a single word escaped, the guy¡¯s katana was already a few inches from my face. Instincts kicked in and my hand shot up just in time to catch the blade between my palms. The weight was heavy, as if the horse man put all of his strength into this one attack. All this power from a guy who just made a horse noise at my daughter¡­ ¡°I should''ve expected this wouldn''t end in one swing,¡± he said, his body somehow suspended in the air. ¡°Well, you''re stronger than Dante. I''ll give you that.¡± ¡°Who the hell is Da¡­.Wait!? Y-Y-You can talk!?¡± Chapter 14: They Put a Tracker Inside Us!? According to the horse man, he wasn''t actually a member of the Radius organization at the Underground City. He had the powers of a Radius but just like me and Sunshine, he didn¡¯t want to be associated with them. His name was actually Jesus Hernandez, but my daughter still called him ¡°horse man¡± on our way back to our training spot. Jesus told us a bit about his past. He was a former member of the Radius and left due to¡­reasons he couldn''t disclose. Apparently, the group was made up of Captains and Lieutenants. Guys like Kofi and that old hag Teresa were captains while Dante and this Horse Man were lieutenants. What determined whether you were a captain was if your ability could ''fix the effects'' of the apocalypse. I guess forcefields and explosions weren''t important enough. Though, I had no idea how electricity and being¡­really tough were any better. In exchange for that information, we told him everything that had happened to us in the past week. How I became a zombie, Dante kidnapping my daughter. The Underground City, the Radius¨Cand most importantly, my daughter¡¯s predicament. Out of all the things we talked about, there was one thing I still needed to know as we returned to where we came from. Something that¡¯s been on my mind for that entire ten minute walk¡­ ¡°Jesus! Why the hell are you naked in front of my kid!?¡± I asked angrily, shielding Sunshine¡¯s eyes from the horrible sight. ¡°Put some damn clothes on, already!¡± Jesus burst out with a loud neigh, shaking his horse head back and forth. ¡°Seriously? You¡¯re asking me a question about something as irrelevant as that? You could¡¯ve asked about my powers, my amazing horse head! But noo, you want to ask about clothing?¡± ¡°Ok, I¡¯ll give you this. You got a good, muscular body, like those professional wrestlers back in our day. But you can¡¯t be-¡± ¡°Oooh, I get it now. You¡¯re afraid your daughter¡¯s going to think I¡¯m cooler than you!¡± He must¡¯ve thought he was the greatest detective in the world after that half-baked conclusion. ¡°You are not cooler than me. Isn¡¯t that right, Sunshine?¡± I gently shook her shoulders. ¡°Tell him how much cooler your dad is than him!¡± ¡°Hmm, you¡¯re cool, Jerome. But that sword explosion move was like¡­really cool!¡± she exclaimed, her eyes brightening. ¡°No way! Even cooler than my ability!?¡± Suddenly, Jesus appeared before me and brought my hand to his face. ¡°What is your ability, by the way? You said the Radius were really interested in it, but I wonder what a Radion could have that makes it so special.¡± I was just about to answer, but Sunshine decided to do it for me. ¡°He can absorb energy and then shoot it out in these really strong blasts!¡± ¡°Huh? Seriously?¡± he said in disbelief. ¡°That sounds cool. Lemme see!¡± ¡°I don¡¯t really have enough ene-¡± Something was taken from me. Something important. My¡­arm. My arm! This guy just cut off my arm! Shit! He was one of them after all! Before I could process what to do next, another explosion erupted from the man¡¯s sword. But it was different this time. It was silent. Completely silent. A stark contrast to the loud boom it created earlier. It also wasn''t painful¨Cnot because the explosion was weak but because I didn''t feel anything from it. Neither did Sunshine, who simply stood there with a shocked expression. Did he purposely stop the attack from doing damage? But then why- Oh, I see what he wants from me. I aimed the arm stump at the energy, squeezing what I had left there. Then, the stump began to drink the energy like water, a huge amount of power flowing into my body as the environment around us became visible again. Miraculously, with the explosion now inside of my body, my arm regrew almost instantly. ¡°Wow,¡± said Jesus, spinning the handle of his katana on his finger. ¡°That was more impressive than I thought.¡± ¡°That was crazy! Never do that again!¡± ¡°That was amazing! Please do that again!¡±If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. Jesus readied his blade. ¡°Whatever you say, little lady!¡± ¡°Hell no!¡± I screamed, jumping back. ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re right,¡± said the horse man, approaching my severed arm. He then picked it up and sank his fingers through the slick, sinewy muscle, the disgusting act somehow intriguing my daughter to come closer to him. After feeling around and asking him what he was doing with my arm for a few minutes, he finally paused. ¡°We don¡¯t have any more time to be fooling around. Especially since there was a tracker inside of you.¡± ¡°What?¡± I made my way back to the two. ¡°Tracker as in¡­tracking us!?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± he replied, pulling out a tiny black device. There was a green light blinking at its corner. ¡°You two said you left the Underground City two days ago? That is truly unfortunate. You gave them enough time to prepare and follow you to your location.¡± Upon hearing this, I swiped the tracker from his hand and crushed it between my fingers. ¡°Alright, that handles it, right?¡± ¡°No,¡± answered Sunshine. ¡°If they had one inside you, then that would mean there¡¯s a tracker inside me too, right Jesus?¡± ¡°Spot on, kid. I was just about to say that.¡± ¡°Then where is it? Inside her clothes?¡± I checked through her hoodie, shoes and pants but I didn¡¯t find anything suspicious. ¡°Am I the only one who sees that big scar on your cheek?¡± Jesus asked Sunshine, pointing at the wound. ¡°The tracker would obviously be in there. Though, I don¡¯t see any noticeable stitches.¡± ¡°Oh, that¡¯s not from any tracker being put inside of me,¡± she corrected. ¡°Some big hockey mask guy cut me with a knife-no, a machete.¡± ¡°Oh no, don¡¯t tell me Jason did that? That guy was always so¡­Neeeeigh! Are you telling me that big ass cut healed in only two days!?¡± ¡°Yeah, yeah, my daughter¡¯s always been a quick healer. That¡¯s not important right now! How do we find this tracker?¡± ¡°Well, I do have this one technique I could use. It was easier to find it in you since your body is made of radioactive energy but I guess if she¡¯s a Radius, then I could try it on her.¡± ¡°Wait, you¡¯re not gonna try and cut her, ar-¡± ¡°Check her back,¡± Jesus interrupted. ¡°Her back¡­?¡± I lifted up Sunshine¡¯s hoodie and, to my dismay, there was a long, curved scar on the middle of her back, carefully stitched. ¡°Damn. There really is one inside of her. Those Radius guys just don¡¯t give up.¡± ¡°Horse Man, how¡¯d you do that? There was like this¡­green energy surrounding you. It made my body feel weird.¡± ¡°Ah, so you were able to see that, little lady? Eres buena. Basically, I-¡± ¡°We don¡¯t have time for some long explanation. How do we get this out of her!¡± ¡°We could try one way.¡± Jesus lifted his horse head a little, enough so that we wouldn¡¯t see his face, and revealed a small mark on his neck. It looked like it had been stitched up by a complete amateur and there was still a red hue underneath the old wound. He then pointed his sword at the scar and said ¡°I did this myself. Mine was a little sloppy but I¡¯ll make sure to be gentle with the girl.¡± My body tensed. ¡°We can¡¯t just do that now.¡± My voice was troubled. ¡°We would need proper medical tools, anesthesia-¡± ¡°Anesthesia?¡± he cut off, sounding genuinely confused by my perfectly reasonable response. ¡°She doesn¡¯t need anesthesia. The hell are you doing raising a pussy in the apocalypse?¡± ¡°She¡¯s nine! We can¡¯t just cut her open without actual medical assistance.¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter how old she is, man. It¡¯s time for your kid to grow up and face some real pain. Besides, if we don¡¯t do it now, more of those Radius guys are gonna show up. We probably have one their way over here, right now.¡± I knew the guy was right but still¡­what if we botch the whole damn thing and she bleeds to death! Plus, the tracker is so small, one of us will have to dig through the open wound just to find it. I can¡¯t put Sunshine through all that pain! I was about to make my final decision on the matter when Jesus randomly began to¡­float in the air. No, it was more like dangling in the air. First, he can make explosions and now he can fly!? ¡°Guys, this is a rather unfortunate thing for me to say, but the enemy has found us.¡± He spoke in such a lax tone that I thought he was joking at first. That was until he was flung into the air, crashing into a tree a couple meters away from us. ¡°Sunshine, run! Now!¡± I yelled, preparing a battle stance. She quickly obeyed but she only got a few steps in before she was lifted by her neck. ¡°Jerome! It¡¯s a hand! A person is doing this!¡± From that new information she screamed out, I had a feeling of what she wanted me to do. I charged toward the invisible figure but when I threw my punch, my fist didn¡¯t connect with anything. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you just use your finger gun move!?¡± she said exasperatedly, descending back to her feet. ¡°We trained for this, remember?¡± ¡°Yeah, and how did that work out! I missed all my shots last time, remember?¡± ¡°Then, I¡¯ll just get him to grab me again and you can-¡± ¡°Are you crazy!? What if I shoot you by accident?¡± ¡°This is perfect, chicos!¡± shouted Jesus, leaning on the tree he was thrown at. ¡°Little lady! I think it¡¯s time to see if you can use Energy Sense!¡± ¡°Energy Sense¡­sounds cool! That¡¯s what you used to find my tracker, right?¡± ¡°Yep! And it¡¯s the only way you two are gonna win this fight!¡± ¡°What do you mean ¡®you two''? You better help us out instead of just sitting there!¡± He completely ignored me. Chapter 15: My Daughter Said What To Me!? ¡°Sunshine, get out of the way for a sec!¡± I yelled urgently, sprinting towards a random tree. She quickly understood and bolted out of the vicinity. Once I saw that she was with Jesus, I pierced through the wood with my fingers and began to yank on the tree, ripping its roots out of the ground. If I couldn¡¯t see where this person was to attack them, then I¡¯ll just attack everything around me! With a fierce grip, I swung it in a reckless arc, branches thrashing through the air like a storm. Dirt and stones were batted across the field, other trees near me were torn apart from the force of my attack, the wind I created slammed against Sunshine and Jesus¡¯ body¡ªevery piece of the Earth was fair game as long as I could hit the Radius bastard who was trying to capture us. However, out of all the things the tree attacked, it didn¡¯t feel like it connected with a person. Or at least something human-like. Damn! Where could that asshole be? Did he run aw- My thoughts were shattered by a fist striking my jaw from my right. In response, I swung the tree in that direction, but the tree only struck the air. Another punch landed on my face, this time to my left, and another one of my swings hit nothing. I glanced at Sunshine for a moment and was a little annoyed that Jesus was just talking to her instead of joining the fight. Catching this guy would¡¯ve been way easier if that horse freak just used his damn explo¡­explosions! That¡¯s it! I squeezed my entire body as tight as I could make it, every fiber of my radioactive ooze bracing for release. The pressure within me built and I could feel the destructive energy from Jesus¡¯ ability expanding out of my bones. More blows hammered into me at every angle, a relentless assault of punches and kicks. But I endured. After all, this was exactly what I wanted. Stay as close as possible you idiot! Finally, the pressure in me snapped, and a violent surge broke free, bursting outward in a furious wave that swallowed the air and the ground beneath me. I felt myself slowly sinking, my attack disintegrating the ground beneath me until it formed a large crater. The explosion had muffled any other sound I could hear in that instant except for one thing. The scream of a man. But it wasn''t from my ability. When my vision cleared, I realized that¡­my daughter was dangling in the air grabbing onto something I couldn''t see. Shit! That must¡¯ve been the invisible guy! ¡°Sunshine, what are you doing!? Get down from there, now!¡± I demanded, watching her flail around. ¡°But Jerome, I can see him!¡± she screamed back. ¡°I learned how! The horse man taught me!¡± ¡°How many times do I have to tell you!? You can¡¯t fig-¡± ¡°Just trust me! Please!¡± Her voice¡­she was serious this time¡­ ***** ¡°Man, this guy¡¯s a real piece of work,¡± said Jesus, scratching his back on the tree''s wood. ¡°Who? My dad?¡± asked Sunshine, shielding her face from the wind. It made her eyes water a bit. ¡°No, this invisible man. Never seen this kind of ability before,¡± he answered, taking a seat. ¡°This might sound a little complicated for a kid like you, but my guess is that he¡¯s altering the way our brains or eyes perceive him by transmuting his molecular structure to something normal humans can¡¯t process in our minds. Like how there are colors out there in our world we can¡¯t see but they still exist. Or women we¡¯ve met in our past when we were drunk and then we wake up the next morning and they¡¯re not there anymore. Like¡­they were never there in the first place.¡±Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! ¡°Um¡­I don¡¯t think that last part has anything to do wit-¡± ¡°Neeeeigh!¡± he suddenly cried out, shaking his horse head around. ¡°Angelica! Was she even real!? Did that night we spent together mean nothing to you¡­¡± This guy¡¯s crazy! He kinda reminds me of my dad before he turned into a Radion, thought Sunshine, sitting next to him. ¡°What about erasure?¡± Jesus turned to her, his horse head nearly getting a laugh out of her. ¡°What about it?¡± ¡°I mean, what if he¡¯s deleting some of his own atoms to make himself actually invisible. Since matter is made up of atoms, if you get rid of those atoms, you¡¯d essentially be erasing part of your body.¡± Jesus paused for a few seconds, as if he was considering the possibility. Then he replied ¡°Um¡­are you sure you¡¯re nine?¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± she asked, raising an eyebrow. ¡°Well anyways, that wouldn¡¯t really work here. For starters, he¡¯d just kill himself doing that. And even if he could survive that¡­¡± He pointed at Jerome, who looked like he was charging something up. ¡°Your papa¡¯s getting his ass beat right now. This invisible guy can only do that if he still had enough physical matter to hit him. And from what I¡¯m sensing with my technique, his body is definitely intact.¡± ¡°Oh yeah, energy sense! You said you were gonna show me how to do that, right?¡± Jesus sprang up to his feet. ¡°You definitely have the capacity for it, little lady. So lemme show you.¡± He lifted his hands forward. ¡°You see all those pieces of green energy around us. Sections of the ground, those three zombies over there, even some of the sky¨Cyou see it, don''t you?¡± It took a moment for Sunshine to understand what the horse man was talking about, but as the green of the world slowly came into view, it finally made sense. ¡°Woah, I see it. It looks like¡­flames.¡± Jesus chuckled. ¡°Yeah. Now lift up your arms like me, close your eyes and imagine all that energy gathering around you. Try as hard as you can, ok?¡± Sunshine lifted her arms, mimicking Jesus. She closed her eyes, focusing on the energy in the area. The acidic smell of the zombie¡¯s blood invading her nostrils. The acrid scent of her father¡¯s zombified body that her nose invited to stay. The heat of the nuclear essence in the sky caressing her skin. The sound of Jerome¡¯s body charging a new attack. All of the things she appreciated about the apocalypse recognized her feelings and thus, came to her side, wrapping around her body. The girl opened her eyes and saw that she was surrounded by a shimmering orb. ¡°Woah. I did not think that would be so quick,¡± he said, voice filled with surprise. ¡°But as I expected, your energy sense is on the smaller side. Probably ¡®cause you''re still a kid.¡± ¡°So I gotta run out there and find him myself?¡± asked Sunshine, admiring her newfound technique. ¡°Yep. He¡¯s radiating some serious nuclear energy right now so it should be easy. Oh, and so is your papa. You better hurry up and get out there before he blows!¡± Without hesitation, she charged back into the battlefield and¡­waited. The radius of her sensory technique was too small for her to find anything meaningful. But what she did know is that whoever this mysterious guy was, he¡¯d want to capture him and leave the fight immediately. Especially with what her dad was about to do, who didn¡¯t seem to notice her presence. Just as she expected, something tugged on her hoodie, pulling her into the air. It was the invisible man! Judging by her energy sense, the guy was pretty scrawny, which was surprising considering he was able to throw Jesus into the air like a piece of trash. Sunshine grasped his face, her fingers clawing at his skin until it bled. He let out a loud, ¡°Ow!¡± Just then, a huge explosion knocked them both to the ground. But that attack didn¡¯t stop the man from hurriedly getting back up and running off somewhere, attempting to push her off as well. His hands felt rough. His hands hurt. But she clung on no matter how much the invisible man slapped her around. ¡®Cause she couldn¡¯t afford to look weak in front of her dad. To look like some scared little girl while he did all the fighting. All the protecting. Screaming at the sight of zombies approaching her or rabid animals drooling at the thought of devouring her. No more! Her dad wasn¡¯t the only one who wanted this stupid disease gone already! So when Jerome demanded her to get off and stay on the sidelines, she only had one thing to tell him. ¡°Jerome, trust me! Please!¡± Sunshine saw him hesitate to respond. He was considering it¡­ ¡°Jerome, use your finger gun attack, now!¡± she screamed out, tightening her grip on the enemy¡¯s face. ¡°Before he pushes me off!¡± ¡°But what if I hit you!?¡± His fingers twitched. ¡°What if I can¡¯t save you like I couldn¡¯t save-¡± ¡°Just shut the fuck up already and shoot the fucking attack!¡± Her words echoed across the area. That was the first time she cursed in front of her father. ¡°I promise¡­I¡¯m not pathetic enough to get killed by my own dad, ok? I already believe you¡¯ll never hurt me so you have to believe that you¡¯ll never hurt me! Hurry up and do it!¡± Only a second had passed before it seemed like Jerome had finally made a decision. He aimed his fingers at the two of them, following them as they ran around him. And then, he fired. Bang! Chapter 16: I Have to Kill Jason!? The air hung heavy with the sharp scent of shock and fear, but also strength and determination. None of that strength and determination came from me. I looked closer at the aftermath, half-expecting to see Sunshine sprawled out on the ground, injured or worse. But no¡ªshe was still there and alive, beneath the invisible man and gripping fiercely onto his back with her small hands. Once I saw she was fine, a wave of relief washed over me, bringing me down to my knees. The field was an absolute mess of broken earth, torn trees, and scattered debris. A large part of me thought my daughter would be one of those broken things. No father would ever want to see their little girl risk their lives in a fight. Especially when the only reason she feels the need to is because the father can''t win it on his own. But those words she screamed at me¡­ ¡°Trust me¡± Trust that she was stubborn enough to stay latched onto that man¡¯s body for who knows how long. Trust she wouldn''t get caught by my attack. Trust that she was strong. I couldn¡¯t help but feel a hint of admiration for her. Though, out of all the things she told me right before I used my finger gun, I would''ve never expected that my daughter would¡­curse at me! Where the hell did she learn ¡°fuck¡± from!? I''ve never said that around her¡­probably. ¡°Hey Jerome, I''m starting to see him now!¡± Sunshine''s words sliced through my whirlwind of thoughts, pulling me back into the moment. I slapped my cheekbones, shaking off the haze that had settled over me, and closed the distance between us.. It was time to put my head back into this harsh reality, even if that meant including Sunshine in it. The space on the ground glistened as my daughter scrambled to her feet, the outline of a figure wavering in and out like a mirage. My toes dipped into a thick liquid which I quickly realized was blood once it became visible underneath my feet. The back of Sunshine¡¯s hoodie was stained with blood too but thankfully it wasn''t hers. His shape grew sharper, lines and shadows beginning to solidify, revealing patches of a man caught between visibility and vanishing. A flicker of his jaw. The curve of his shoulder. It was like watching an apparition slowly dragged into reality. Finally, we could see him and¡­he didn''t look like the threat I thought he was. The man was scrawny. Scrawnier than me when I was a human. Hell, I could''ve probably beat his ass if I wanted too. He groaned in pain, clenching the wound I gave him with my new technique. Yet, that didn''t stop his blood from escaping. ¡°You¡­piece of shit!¡± he yelled, struggling to cover the pain in his voice. ¡°You shot me! How could you do this!?¡± ¡°Because you tried to kidnap my kid, man! How many of you guys do I¡­do we have to beat before you Radius give up.¡± I brought Sunshine closer to me and wiped some of the blood off her back. ¡°Look at what you did! Got blood all over her favorite hoodie.¡± ¡°Favorite?¡± she questioned, smearing the blood on her black shoes on a rock. ¡°Pink isn¡¯t even my favorite color.¡± ¡°Huh? But it was your mother¡¯s favorite color! What color could possibly-¡° ¡°Hey! I¡¯m dying here!¡± said the man, coughing up blood right after he said that. ¡°I need¡­to see a doctor.¡± ¡°And whose fault do you think that is? The brave father fighting to save his daughter or the loser who was too afraid to fight fair and square and got shot for it!¡± ¡°Y-Yo-You think I wanted to do this?¡± He tried to sit up but failed miserably. ¡°I¡¯m just as much of a victim here as you! I was just a simple bartender before last week!¡± ¡°Oh yeah? Well you should¡¯ve stuck to selling overpriced wine instead of trying to fight the greatest father in the world!¡± ¡°Neeeeigh! I knew that voice sounded familiar.¡± I recognized that ear-piercing horse sound immediately. The kind that really made you wish you¡¯d go deaf. I turned my head and the king of being almost naked in the worst situations was approaching me, twirling his sword on the horse head¡¯s muzzle. ¡°You know this guy?¡± I asked, still annoyed that Jesus didn¡¯t help me at all. He dropped the sword into his palm. ¡°You bet I do! His name is Kevin. That guy used to have me hammered every night! Greatest bartender in the Underground, in my opinion.¡± ¡°Wait¡­Jesus, don¡¯t tell me that¡¯s you in that stupid mask?¡± he said weakly, cracking a genuine smile. ¡°Wow man. I didn¡¯t think I¡¯d see an old friend up he-Ah! What the hell¡­are you doing!?¡± Their seemingly friendly reunion was cut short by Jesus repeatedly stomping on the wound in Kevin¡¯s abdomen. ¡°?Llamas est¨²pida a mi cabeza? How dare you! This shit means a lot to me you skinny little bitch! How about I make you die just a little quicker!?¡± I was pretty indifferent on letting Jesus grant this guy a painful demise. It¡¯s not like we were gonna help him in the first place. The only one who seemed to have a problem with it was my daughter, placing her hand on his thigh. The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Jesus stopped. ¡°Something the matter, little lady? If you got a problem with watching this guy die, then I suggest you grow-¡± ¡°We should keep him alive,¡± she suggested. ¡°After all, he could give us answers on the Radius¡¯ next move, right?¡± Jesus stepped back from the bleeding man. ¡°Oh yeah, you¡¯re right about that!¡± He then pointed his katana at Jason and said ¡°Alright, tell us what you know or the next thing going in that hole is my sword.¡± The guy didn¡¯t flinch at the weapon mere inches from his face. He must¡¯ve accepted his fate already. ¡°Like I said before¡­I¡¯m just a lackey in this whole plan. A goddamn minion! I got these powers out of nowhere and those Radius dudes stormed my bar and gave me an offer I couldn¡¯t refuse.¡± ¡°What offer was that?¡± I asked. I thought back to what Kofi told me about how it was determined certain people would be recruited to their organization. Maybe invisibility was something they considered important and necessary to their goals. ¡°They said I could either join or die right there in my bar.¡± Kevin chuckled, blood seeping from his mouth. ¡°Guess it didn¡¯t matter in the end. I would¡¯ve died either way.¡± ¡°They stuck a tracker inside you, right?¡± Jesus revealed his scar to the man. ¡°Like the one they gave me?¡± ¡°Yeah¡­but I think that zombie shot it out of me. I don¡¯t feel it vibrating inside of my hip anymore.¡± Jesus patted my back. ¡°That¡¯s pretty fortunate for you two. They won¡¯t know he¡¯s dead since they won''t be able to find his body¡­after we bury him!¡± ¡°How many more Radius guys are up here on the surface? And where are they hiding?¡± ¡°Radius¡­Oh God¡­I need a doctor.¡± Jesus pulled on Kevin¡¯s dark-orange hair. ¡°My friend asked you a question here. How about you go ahead and answer it real quick.¡± ¡°M-Mommy? Is that¡­you?¡± he said, reaching out for Sunshine. ¡°Pops? Why do you look like¡­a horse?¡± ¡°Well, isn''t that unfortunate. Kevin¡¯s going delirious on us.¡± The horse man readied his blade. ¡°Guess it''s time for you to-¡± ¡°A big guy¡­there was a big guy with me. Wanted me to¡­turn him invisible I think. He really wanted to see you two for some reason.¡± He pointed at Sunshine and me. The moment I heard this, a cloud of fear began to shadow over me. I crouched down and cautiously asked ¡°What was his name?¡± ¡°I¡­don¡¯t know. He said¡­AIDs a few times though. Or maybe he had AIDs.¡± ¡°Jason!¡± Me and Jason shouted that name at the same time, both of us knowing how dangerous that masked killer was. What confused me the most was that Kofi specifically told me that the Radius I saw in that building down there wouldn¡¯t come after me. Did they change their minds!? Or did Jason¡­come here without any of them knowing? Either way this was bad. That maniac was just here and now he¡¯s in who knows where! Or maybe he was still here¡­ ¡°Jesus,¡± said Sunshine. She sounded more grown than usual. ¡°Can you use your Energy Sense to track him down?¡± ¡°Already tried that. The guy¡¯s long gone now. I¡¯ve got no idea where he¡¯d be heading to on the surface.¡± I stood back up. ¡°Seriously!? You have to know something. You were on the same team as him.¡± ¡°Well, if I remember correctly, he was always big on Halloween.¡± ¡°What does Halloween have to do with anything!?¡± ¡°There¡¯s this place called Hallowsville. It¡¯s a civilization that is strictly Halloween themed. As in, the people there are crazy for that holiday. I went over there a year ago to get my beautiful horse head fixed. Never went back though. Those civilians are freaky.¡± And here I thought he only wore that mask ¡®cause he liked that horror movie. This guy just loves Halloween in general? ¡°He¡¯s dead.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± I responded, checking Kevin¡¯s body to see if what Sunshine said was true. Unfortunately, it was. ¡°Damn! I had more questions I wanted to ask¡­like about those trackers.¡± ¡°What else do you need to know about them? They track shit. That¡¯s literally it,¡± Jesus remarked, caressing his blade on the man¡¯s neck. ¡°You know what I mean! We need to get Sunshine¡¯s tracker out of her.¡± ¡°This might be weird considering the fight we just had, but don¡¯t you think you have more important things to worry about?¡± ¡°Jesus, are you dumb!? If we don¡¯t get that tracker out of her body, more guys are just gonna keep coming! And the more guys we have to worry about, the less focus we¡¯ll have on finding a-¡± ¡°A cure?¡± he interrupted, walking over to Sunshine. ¡°What progress have you made on even doing that? None I assume. As long as the Radius are still out there, itching to make use of you two, don''t you think the smartest option would be to snuff them out one by one?¡± ¡°You mean use my daughter as bait!?¡± I pulled Sunshine away from Jesus. ¡°We can''t do that!¡± ¡°I didn''t mean use her as bait. I would never do that to such an adorable girl. I actually meant that you''re going to go to Hallowsville and kill Jason.¡± What!? Did he just tell me to¡­I can''t do that! That guy has fought me three whole times and I lost every single one. The one time I could blast him away with one of my punches, he immediately came flying back at me. And this idiot wants me to kill him? ¡°What¡¯s with that look on your face, Jerome?¡± asked my daughter, pinching my chin. ¡°The only way we can peacefully find a cure for me is if we get rid of all these Radius enemies. And didn¡¯t you say you beat Dante? Aaand you already fought Jason! Since you were able to save Johnny.¡± Johnny¡­ ¡°Yeah¡­I saved him.¡± I hoped she didn¡¯t hear the regret in my voice. ¡°But it¡¯ll be dangerous having you there with me so we¡¯ll have to-¡± ¡°Oh, she¡¯s not coming with you. She¡¯s staying with me.¡± Jesus said that with such bluntness that I was this close to planting my fist in his jaw. That was until¡­Sunshine spoke as well. ¡°Jerome, I think it would be a good idea if I trained under the horse man for a bit. Or a while. I don¡¯t really know how long you¡¯ll be gone. I mean I¡¯ve got a good grasp at this Energy Sense technique. And he¡¯s strong so he could teach me how to fight. That¡¯s good, right? You wouldn''t have to try so hard to protect me all the time!¡± ¡°I-¡± ¡°Wait! Before you say no, let me give even more reasons why you should let me do this. I¡­uh¡­You always say how I¡¯m so clever, right. That¡¯s another good reason! And I still have all the survival skills you taught me, remember? Just ¡®cause I¡¯m nine it doesn¡¯t mean I shouldn¡¯t get stronger. And¡­and¡­¡± ¡°Sunshine, you cursed at me.¡± I gripped her shoulders firmly¡ªnot too tight to harm her. But enough to make her listen. ¡°Don¡¯t think I forgot about that.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no way you¡¯re gonna say no ¡®cause of that. I¡¯m sorry, ok! I won¡¯t-¡± ¡°There¡¯s no way I as a father can just let that slide without punishing you in some way. So I¡¯ve decided on the perfect punishment for a bad child like you!¡± I looked at Jesus. ¡°You¡¯re gonna stay with this man until I come back and while I¡¯m gone, he is gonna give you the most rigorous, painful, life-changing training you¡¯ll ever receive! Even if that disease leaves you passing out, you better wake up and keep going.¡± ¡°Woah¡­are you serious!? Really?¡± Sunshine wrapped her arms around me. ¡°You¡¯re the best dad ever. Thanks, Jerome!¡± ¡°You can thank me by showing how much stronger you are once I come back. And trust me, I¡¯m gonna come back after I absolutely pulverize Jason. He¡¯s not gonna get away with threatening my daughter''s life. That¡¯s for damn sure.¡± ¡°Yeah, you better!¡± ¡°Neeeigh! Can you two stop before I get all emotional? Why do I feel like you two are only separating because of me?¡± ¡°Because it is because of you!¡± I said, holding back my fist of fatherly rage. I got one last look at my kid¡¯s smiling face before finally letting her go. I¡¯d be lying if I said I could easily set aside all my worries about leaving her but I had to for now. But it would be an even bigger lie to say my rage towards Jason was equal to¡­no, more than what I felt towards Dante. At least, that scumbag was too much of a coward to kill her. Jason was a mindless freak who killed a little boy in front of me! And there was only one way I was sure I could kill him. I had to absorb another Type Two Radion. Chapter 17: They Stole My Map! I was standing near the shattered window of a weathered house, aiming two fingers at the horde of zombies shuffling forward on a cracked street. Each shot from me echoed through the hollow streets below, like a jet preparing for takeoff as the bullets blew their heads to bits. Zombies in this world loved sound because it usually meant humans were nearby. Fortunately for me, I was one of their kind now so, instead of coming to attack me, they simply groaned in my direction. My finger gun attack had quickly improved. Probably ¡®cause I had more time on my hands that wasn¡¯t being used to find more food for Sunshine. It¡¯s not like I didn¡¯t cherish those moments. It¡¯s just a little more difficult feeding a kid with a high metabolism. While this new technique had gotten better, my ¡°Type Two Radion finding¡± skills hadn''t improved at all! According to Jesus, the journey to Hallowsville would take about a month¨Cthree weeks if I moved fast enough. He did mention the possibility of spotting Jason on my way there, but the chances were pretty low since that masked maniac was the type of guy to move nonstop if he really wanted to do something. He definitely wasn''t wrong about that. And with how fast he was, he¡¯d probably take half the time it would take for me to get there. Unlike Jason though, I had something he was probably too dumb to use. A status board! Well, it wasn¡¯t mine¨Cit was Jesus¡¯s. I just wished I could have seen where he pulled this tool from. The thought of this not coming from inside his horse head made me shiver. I stopped shooting at the zombies and sat down on the dusty floor, grabbing the status board I placed on a table next to me. It was one of those special ones I saw the people in the Underground City had so it took me a couple days to get used to the mechanics. This ¡°cellphone¡± made me realize how outdated the status board I lost back at Savir¡¯s convenience store was. It''s been ten years since I last used a phone, after all! One of the special features it had was a map that showed me the path to Hallowsville with a long, red line that curved jaggedly till it reached an orange checkpoint. Judging by the faded colored section of the line, I¡¯d say I¡¯ve gotten a week¡¯s worth of walking in. That and the map literally has a box of text that says ¡°Congratulations!!! You¡¯ve actually put in the effort to walk a week¡¯s worth of steps!!!! You¡¯re well on your way to losing weight, fatty,¡± right at the bottom. I¡¯m not even fat! But I was going to have to slow down soon. Even if the chance was low, I couldn¡¯t risk meeting Jasonnat my current level. The strength that ran through my bones when I destroyed Dante¡­I needed to find another Type Two in order to get that again. Shit! Why did I leave without asking Jesus where- Suddenly, a cry for help rang out across the abandoned town, making my body jump as the phone slipped from my grasp. I peeked through the window and saw two people, a man and a woman, hiding from the horde I was just firing at. They used to be a group of three, but the zombies were in the middle of feasting on the third one, screams of agony reverberating out of the poor guy. The two quietly hurried from the back of the van to the front door of the house I was in. Good thing I kept the front door locked and decided to go through the back door instead! It wasn¡¯t locked but they¡¯ll probably just move on to another house instead of figuring that out.The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. Both of them had these large, heavy duty backpacks with an array of small knives strapped to the sides. They wore a set of green camouflage gear like the ones a soldier would wear. Although, what they wore looked more like cheap knockoffs than something out of the military. The Halloween store kind. These guys were Resource Adventurers! But why would they look for resources in some dead end place like this? Plus, they had no guns. What kind of idiot travels without a gun at their hip? ¡°Hey, if the door¡¯s locked, then let¡¯s go to the next one already,¡± said the woman, with a serious panic in her voice. Her hair was back-length and light brown¡ªalmost orange. Who the hell has such flashy hair nowadays? She¡¯ll get herself spotted looking like that. ¡°Didn''t you hear the gunshots coming from inside?¡± he asked, fiddling with the doorknob. ¡°Brandon could be inside trying to help us. Or maybe some other adventurer. We won''t know unless we check.¡± ¡°D-Does that mean Victoria¡¯s in there? Like right now?¡± ¡°Like I said before, we can''t know for sure until we can get in here,¡± he responded, his voice growing more tense. ¡°Now keep quiet before they hear us. Don''t let that girl die for nothing, ok?¡± ¡°That didn''t answer my question,¡± she said, her voice raising as she shook his shoulder. ¡°Is my baby there or not?¡± ¡°Rosey, I don''t-¡± To my surprise, the woman began to scream the name ¡°Victoria!¡± to the house but the man quickly shut her mouth with his hand, stopping her before she could say anything else. However, they were too late as the zombies slowly shifted their attention to the two adventurers and started to make their way over to them. They froze for a moment, the realization that they were about to get eaten sinking in like a stone in a pond. ¡°What are you stopping for, Elias!? Kick the door down!¡± she yelled, slapping his back. ¡°Calm down, woman! Step back and I''ll get to it!¡± He pushed the girl to the side and proceeded to lunge at the door, slamming his shoulder against it. But it was to no avail. ¡°Damn it! Whoever¡¯s up there, kill these zombies already, will ya!? We''re gonna die out here!¡± ¡°Victoria, it''s mommy! Please open the door!¡± I really had no reason to save them here but hearing a mother simply desperate to find her child made me resonate a lot with her. And there was a pretty easy solution to their problem. I stepped away from the window and shouted ¡°The back door! The back door¡¯s still open!¡± Once that was done, I peered through the window a second time and noticed the two bolting to the back. Good! Now to leave before they see me. I dove out the window, shards of glass trailing behind me as I crashed down onto the skull of one of the sauntering zombies, painting the concrete green. They paused, acknowledging my presence with a vacant stare, but then resumed their lifeless shuffle as though I were nothing more than a passing breeze. With a sharp inhale, I swung my arm in a wide arc, the force whipping the air into a strong gust. The wind slammed into them like a tidal wave, sending their rotting bodies hurtling backward. I then ran through the town, hoping to find some kind of exit out of here. I thought back to that Type Two Dante had in that mini forcefield of his and wondered where the hell did he even find one of those. Maybe in a place with a whole bunch of radioactive energy? Or nuclear energy? Maybe it¡¯s one of those animal things where they¡¯re the leaders in a pack. Oh, I know! Maybe I can put two destinations at once on this status board and just input ¡°Where to find a Type Two Radion.¡± That could totally work! I reached for the status board in my pocket¡­wait a minute¡­I¡¯m naked! I completely forgot I gave that weirdo Jesus my pants! I mean, why wouldn¡¯t I? I couldn¡¯t just let him walk around in his underwear around Sunshine. Which only meant one thing¡­ I sprinted back to the house and, to my dismay, the two adventurers were in the middle of starting up a truck. The guy had the status board in his hand. ¡°Hey, you! Give that thing back to me!¡± I shouted, running towards them. But all that did was scare them, causing them to jump into the car. I was just about to open the door when they drove off, my hand still clenched to the handle. ¡°Hey, stop the car! I¡¯m not gonna hu-¡± ¡°Wh-Wh-What the hell! This thing can talk!?¡± Ah, great. Not that again. Chapter 18: There鈥檚 Another Talking Zombie!? The truck tore through the crumbling streets of the abandoned town, kicking up dust and debris in its wake. It crashed into opened mailboxes, faded fences, even ripped holes into a couple houses¡ªnothing was safe from these horrible drivers. And the one who had to bear the most of the chaos was me, trying to get myself on top of the damn vehicle. I didn¡¯t feel the pain from anything they collided with, but it was like my human instincts kicked in and made me flinch from the incoming objects anyway. Damn those stupid instincts! I had to get these idiots to stop before they destroy the status board! ¡°Hey, I said stop!¡± I shouted, gripping my fingers through the roof of the truck. ¡°I¡¯m not gonna hurt you!¡± ¡°W-W-What the hell are you, huh!?¡± the man screamed. ¡°Get off our car, already!¡± ¡°No! Not until you give me back that status board!¡± My gaze locked onto the truck¡¯s front wheel and an idea popped into my head. I aimed my shaky fingers at the spinning wheel and fired two bullets. The first bullet destroyed the wheel¡¯s rubber instantly, while the second struck the ground, forming a small crater. The back wheel dropped into the hole, bringing the truck to an abrupt halt before it began to tip. Before it could fully flip, I regained my footing on the land and caught the top of the truck. The two adventurers fell from their seats, their startled cries filling the car. Then, I carefully placed the vehicle back on the ground in front of me, hoping all that swerving and reckless driving didn''t break my only safe path to Hallowsville and back to Sunshine. ¡°For the last time, would you people please give me back my status board!?¡± I asked, opening the door to let them out. They looked disoriented, oblivious to my presence for a few seconds. Both crawled out of the car and collapsed at my feet, clutching their bleeding heads. Ignoring them, I approached the car and checked everywhere for the status board and fortunately, the device was in a small pocket on one of the backpacks on the seat. I took the phone out and¡­No! The status board¡¯s screen had cracked and no matter how much I tapped on it, it wouldn¡¯t turn back on. Damn it! Why couldn¡¯t Jesus just have some pan- ¡°What? How the hell did it break my knife so easily!?¡± I turned my and it looked like the male adventurer had pierced my back with a small knife. Or at least he tried to as I noticed his weapon had broken and the other half had fallen next to me. ¡°You got a lot of nerve to attack me after you idiots broke the most important thing I had on me!¡± ¡°How the hell is a zombie like you speaking!?¡± he questioned, jumping out of the car and aiming his damaged knife at me. ¡°Or¡­are you just some guy in a costume? From Hallowsville?¡± ¡°I¡¯m n-¡± I was just about to deny that accusation when I realized their misunderstanding could go in my favor. They also didn¡¯t seem to notice that I was the one who stopped their car rather than some obstacle in the ground. ¡°I am! And you just shoved a damn knife in my back, man. You could¡¯ve ruined my costume!¡± ¡°Oh shit. My bad, dude,¡± he said, dropping the knife. ¡°That¡¯s a pretty realistic costume, you know. Felt like touching rock-hard gelatin. That must¡¯ve cost you a fortune.¡± ¡°Uh, yeah,¡± I replied, climbing out of the car. ¡°Got it for about¡­five hundred.¡± His light brown eyes lit up as soon he heard that. ¡°F-F-Five hundred? You have to be some kind of resource adventurer. That¡¯s the only way you can get that kind of money.¡± ¡°You guys are too, right? I can tell from all that gear.¡± ¡°Actually, I¡¯m the only adventurer in our group right now. There used to be two of us but¡­¡± He looked down as he rubbed his buzz cut. He sighed and then said ¡°And then there¡¯s her¡­¡± The woman looked pretty shaken up, her trembling hands clutching to a plushie of a cartoony yellow mouse. It looked kinda familiar. ¡°Her name¡¯s Rosey. Don¡¯t mind her. She¡­freezes whenever she deals with something ¡®scary¡¯. We didn¡¯t intend on bringing her along but she was very insistent on finding this kid of hers who, according to her, got kidnapped by another adventurer from our town.¡± ¡°Damn. Seriously?¡± I asked, sympathizing with her plight. ¡°Well, Rosey says her daughter got kidnapped, but I don¡¯t know¡­from her story, it just sounds like she simply ran away from home. I don¡¯t even know why she thought it was smart to tag al-¡± His sentence was interrupted by me suddenly appearing before him, gripping his shoulders. ¡°Did she get kidnapped or not!?¡± He furrowed his brows. ¡°Even if she did, I don¡¯t see why she wanted to come so badly.¡± ¡°Because she¡¯s a parent who wants to save her kid,¡± I quickly answered, strengthening my grip. ¡°There¡¯s absolutely nothing wrong with that. She¡¯ll come with you no matter what, got that?¡±This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. ¡°Ow, ow! Ok, man! I get it,¡± he exclaimed, pulling off my hands. ¡°What are you so tense for? You¡¯re talking as if you¡¯re going to come with us.¡± ¡°Oh, definitely not,¡± I denied, approaching the scared mother. ¡±Trust me, I got more important things to do than help you guys.¡± I lended Rosey my hand who, after a couple seconds of hesitating, finally grabbed it. ¡°You said you¡¯re a Resource Adventurer, right? What are you doing here anyway?¡± I helped Rosey to her feet. ¡°I was actually¡­assigned a mission to¡­take pictures of a Type Two Radion.¡± ¡°Type Two Radion!?¡° His voice climbed, almost cracking. ¡°That¡¯s impossible! Why would they assign a mission like that to some Halloween fanatic like you? Only the strongest of the strong can handle those monsters and the only way you can become one of those is if-¡± ¡°You¡¯ve gained powers from the effects of the apocalypse, right?¡± I interrupted, stepping closer. ¡°Believe me when I say I¡¯m one of those lucky few.¡± ¡°No way! Just because you¡¯re wearing a costume of a Type Two, doesn¡¯t mean you¡¯re as strong as-¡± A deafening screech ripped the air, cutting him off mid-sentence. The ground shuddered beneath us as a shadow with wings darkened the area, growing wider by the second. Then, the sharp talons of a radioactive bird zoomed towards the man¡¯s head, intent on snatching him with a murderous drive that even he felt. However, before that could happen, I swiftly fired two shots at the hungry animal, destroying its fragile golden legs and planting two holes in its giant head. I yanked the two out of the way with ease, watching the bird slowly collapse in front of me, blood painting my body like a canvas. Either I¡¯ve gotten stronger or that bird was way weaker than Jerry one. No, getting stronger sounds way better. ¡°What the hell! Did¡­you kill that beast!?¡± the man asked, still reeling from what just occurred. ¡°Yeah.¡± I flaunted two fingers at him. ¡°With these two fingers I did. Still think I''m some Halloween fanatic?¡± ¡°That power¡­are you with-¡± A phone began to ring. But it wasn''t my status board. That still wasn''t turning on. I glanced at the guy and noticed him digging through his camo jacket pockets until he took out a status board¨Ca little bigger than mine. A beam of blue light shot upward, forming a blue rectangle that read ¡°CALL FROM BRANDON¡±. He pressed on the projection and words came on like subtitles for a movie as someone spoke. [Hey, Elias! Where¡­Where¡­] ¡°Damn, the service must be shit over there!¡± He slapped the back of the device a bit until it started to work again. [Hey, why aren¡¯t you responding?] The man on the call was whispering, like he was hiding from something. ¡°Sorry Brandon, I didn¡¯t hear that last thing you said. Can you rep-¡± ¡°Brandon!¡± Rosey suddenly yelled at the screen, making Elias jump. ¡°Where the hell did you take my baby! Answer me!¡± [Keep your damn voice down, woman. She¡¯s¡­safe with me. But we won¡¯t be for much longer if you keep screaming into the call like that.] ¡°I want to speak with my daughter. Put her on the call.¡± [I can¡¯t exactly do that right now. I¡¯ve run into a problem.] Elias covered Rosey¡¯s mouth. ¡°What kind of problem? Are you ok?¡± [Well, the thing is¡­Me and the kid encountered that Type Two Radion we were talking about before I left. The one in Barclay¡¯s Center.] Barclay¡¯s Center? That¡¯s in Brooklyn. I¡¯m in Brooklyn! Geez, how did I run for so long that I ended up all the way in the worst borough in New York!? More importantly, this guy found exactly what I was looking for over there! ¡°And what happened?¡± [I had my sniper on me, about to shoot the thing¡¯s head off, when these¡­plants sneaked up on me. They knocked me out and next thing I know I¡¯m face to face with this feminine looking Type Two. I think it was trying to communicate with me¡­but I blacked out again and ended up in this secluded spot in the arena.] ¡°Where¡¯s the Type Two? Is it looking for you?¡± [That¡¯s the thing. I just woke up here and I¡¯ve been hiding ever since. She could be outside or dead for all I know. And regarding Victoria¡­I don¡¯t know where she is.] ¡°What!?¡± said Rosey, her voice muffled by Elias¡¯ head. ¡°How could you lose sight of the girl you took from me!¡± [Don¡¯t worry. She¡¯s a smart girl. Probably ran off when she saw I got captured. At least, I hope she did.] ¡°You know this isn¡¯t gonna look good for you once you come back home, right?¡± Elias sighed in disappointment. ¡°Taking a child with you on a dangerous journey like this? Plus, someone died trying to find your location. The Adventurer¡¯s Board is not going to like this.¡± [Elias, you know that''s not fair. Why should I be punished for teaching a child in the apocalypse how to actually survive the apoca¡­Oh no. Shit. Shit. Shit.] ¡°What''s wrong, Brandon? Something the matter over there?¡± [Oh, God¡­it''s at the door. Damn it. Where''s my damn rifle.] Elias tightened his grip on his status board. ¡°Ok, just calm down and find some kind of hiding place. Like a closet or something. Or if you can''t just¡­make sure to aim for the-¡± ¡°A rifle isn''t gonna kill a Type Two. Probably won''t even damage it.¡± I took a few steps forward. ¡°Tell him to hide if he wants to live.¡± ¡°Um, shit¡­ok. Brandon, you have to-¡± A door was bust open, and I could hear the sound of something quickly sliding on the floor, Brandon¡¯s whimpering turning into loud shrieks. A single gunshot echoed from the status board and, in the same second they were fired, abruptly stopped. Along with Brandon¡¯s screams. [My baby¡­you tried to take my baby¡­] The last thing I heard before the call went out struck a bolt of fear through my imaginary heart. That voice wasn''t Brandon. It was¡­a woman. That Type Two Radion¡­just spoke!? Is it the same situation as me? But then those Radius guys made it seem like I was a special case. The only case. ¡°This is bad. Really bad. I don''t know who that woman¡¯s voice was but¡­the Type Two probably killed them too.¡± ¡°Victoria¡­Victoria¡­My baby.¡± ¡°Hey! Get a hold of yourself, will ya?¡± said Elias, shaking her shoulders. ¡°That girl obviously wasn¡¯t Victoria. It sounded nothing like her¡­I think.¡± ¡°Hey, I¡¯m going to Barclay¡¯s Center with you.¡± Elias turned to me, dumbfounded by what I just said. ¡°You serious? You¡¯re not afraid of that thing?¡± ¡°Why would I be afraid of that zombie?¡± I spoke in a such a bold tone that Elias must¡¯ve thought I was crazy for even suggesting that. He paused for a bit and then asked ¡°You¡¯re not a photographer, are you?¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m not. I plan on using that zombie for something else.¡± ¡°Then¡­you¡¯re not with that Radius organization from the Underground cities?¡± Cities? There¡¯s more than one? ¡°No, I¡¯m an outsider doing his own thing.¡± ¡°Look, I acknowledge you''re a strong adventurer but¡­no, you know what? Fine, you''re coming with us. But that means you''re going to protect us on the way there and when you''re fighting that monster, right?¡± ¡°Sure. But on one condition¡­¡± I showed him my status board. ¡°You idiots destroyed my device in your little joy ride across town and now I can¡¯t even turn it on. Give me yours and I won''t be giving it back to you, obviously.¡± I tapped on the screen to further my point. These young people needed to appreciate the value of things! He scratched his head, seeming to consider the offer. ¡°Um¡­dude? You know that''s not how you turn it on, right?¡± ¡°What do you mean!?¡± ¡°There''s like a small button on the side¡­you know, like a real phone?¡± I checked the sides and realized¡­he was right. The map was still there once I turned it on. ¡°God, this is why I hate talking to old people.¡± ¡°I''m not old! I''m only 43!¡± Chapter 19: A Big Bear and Another Zombie with Powers! When I was a kid, I remember my dad taking me to this basketball game at the Barclays Center. He was really big on that sport, watching a game on TV and then rewatching that same game the next day just to ¡°understand¡± the plays more. I couldn¡¯t go one day without him telling me how much his future depended on me playing professional basketball. ¡°Don¡¯t play it because you love it. Play it because I love it,¡± was what he always told me when he made me practice on the weekends. Those were the only days my dad wasn¡¯t off at his job so I guess he thought he was using his time wisely. That was until the day of that basketball game where he realized I wasn¡¯t so big on his passion as he believed I was. Instead of consuming the supposed spectacle before me, there was someone else that caught my attention. A bald man in the front row who, unlike the other celebrities wearing those fancy clothes, wore a simple oversized black t-shirt and jean shorts. He was chugging two cans of beer at the same time, a beverage banned in the arena at the time. He didn¡¯t give a shit about some ban or all the cowards sitting away from him. He was a goddamn wrestler. But when I told my father that''s the kind of person I wanted to be, the only thing he told me was ¡°You ain''t ever gonna be a wrestler, Jerome. Just keep doing what I tell you to do and you''ll have a good future.¡± It hurt me to hear my own father say that. So when I bore witness to the Barclay¡¯s Center, overrun and ravaged by a swarm of various plant life, I didn¡¯t feel a hint of sadness. The plants in the area were rather unusual though. Venus Flytraps towered over the Center, chomping on giant chunks of debris from other buildings as dust spilled from their mouths. Vines twirled around the arena like a snake coiled around its prey. And to top it all off, a large rose was in the middle of the arena poked out from the middle of the arena, the roof seemingly destroyed. Yeah¡­good riddance to all that shit. Me and Elias were pretty far away from the plant life¡¯s new habitat, hiding behind a flipped over car as Elias tried calling his friend Brandon over and over again. We had to lock Rosey inside the room of a random hotel so she wouldn¡¯t blow our cover. That girl was a screamer. ¡°There¡¯s no use calling him. He¡¯s dead,¡± I said bluntly. ¡°Obviously I know that,¡± replied Elias, still calling. ¡°But if you call an SB enough times and no one picks up, it sends out a beacon to its exact location. That way we can at least have some idea where his remains are.¡± ¡°Status boards can do that?¡± I asked in genuine shock. ¡°I didn¡¯t know that.¡± ¡°You¡¯re a resource adventurer, right? You should already know that.¡± ¡°Oh, yeah. But I come from a more humble civilization that doesn¡¯t sell those advanced copies. Just flimsy little tape dispensers that¡¯re pretty shit compared to yours.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you have one too? The one with a cracked screen that you forced me to put in my bag?¡± I rubbed my head. ¡°Well, yeah but-¡± ¡°Now that I think about it, where are you from anyway? And you never told us your name on the way here. Maybe if I searched up your name, we could call-¡± An ear-shattering roar reverberated through the broken city, cutting Elias off as he accidentally dropped his SB. ¡°Oh shit,¡± he whispered, his voice tense. ¡°What the hell was that? Can you see it?¡± I stuck my head out and was surprised to see that a giant bear was roaming through the streets ahead of us, flipping over cars with its skull and ripping through vines on the ground. However, this wasn¡¯t an ordinary bear. This was a radioactive one, and its size was probably comparable to a school bus. Length wise, that is. This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. ¡°It¡¯s a bear,¡± I answered, surveying its heavy movements. ¡°A big ass bear in goddamn New York.¡± ¡°Seriously? Must¡¯ve came from Prospect Park Zoo. I remember that place having a few bears.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not just some regular bear.¡± I crouched back down when I noticed the bear slowly turning its head to our position. ¡°You know what I mean by that, right? Elias was still trying to call Brandon. ¡°Oh, great. A radioactive one? Is it stronger than that bird you killed?¡± ¡°Yeah, obviously. It¡¯s a bear. My attacks will probably bounce right off of its-¡± At that moment, the vehicle was slammed into by something, the impact sending us spiraling down the street as the vehicle separated in half mid-air, glass and metal fragments raining down on us. I clawed through the ground whilst still tumbling and planted my feet firmly on the concrete, Elias colliding into me. Elias groaned in pain. ¡°God dammit! That monster just tackled the hell out of us. You ok, man!?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry about me!¡± I shouted, hopping to my feet. ¡°Your status board¡­that¡¯s still working, right!?¡± He checked his hands and sighed. ¡°Sorry, I dropped it! Must be near where we were hiding before that bear spotted us.¡± ¡°Look, over there,¡± I said, pointing at the bear. Just as Elias suspected, he had dropped the SB where we were initially attacked and the beast was currently getting a good whiff of it. ¡°Guess there¡¯s only one way to handle this now.¡± ¡°Jesus, this is bad.¡± Elias rubbed the sweat off his forehead. ¡°Listen. Like I said before, I just need your name and we could call-¡± I didn¡¯t give him a chance to try and catch me in my lie as I was already charging towards the radioactive animal. I barely had enough energy to shoot a bullet with half the strength I had before, let alone start the battle with a nuclear powered punch, so the only thing I could do is try and beat this thing without any energy release. The moment it saw me, its green eyes glowed in a rabid fury as it ran towards me, its claws tearing through the ground. Then, we collided, the bear¡¯s paws and my hands clenching each other intensely. Perhaps even this rabid beast knew that I intended for this to be a simple battle of strength. No tricks, no strategy¡ªjust two freaks fighting it out like men. Like goddamn wrestlers! It released a ferocious, steamy roar at my face, trying to intimidate me but I didn¡¯t back down. I roared right back at it, probably a little louder. We repeated this until we both grew tired of the useless intimidation. Good thing I didn¡¯t have a nose ¡®cause the bear¡¯s breath probably smelled horrible. I lifted my foot and slammed it against the concrete continuously, the shockwaves pushing the bear back little by little. The animal was just about to fall when Elias suddenly appeared next to me and grabbed the SB. ¡°Look over there!¡± he yelled, pointing towards the arena. ¡°That light¡¯s the beacon. I¡¯m gonna go find whatever¡¯s shining with it!¡± I was too engrossed in the contest of strength to look up but I knew what he was about to do was dumb. ¡°Hey, don¡¯t go running off in there without me,¡± I said, struggling to raise my voice. ¡°Wait for me to finish this thing off.¡± He didn¡¯t listen, instead bolting off to wherever this beacon was. ¡°No! Stop it, Elias! You¡¯ll get yourself kil-¡± My warning was interrupted by the bear stabbing through my hands with its claws, sparking up a fiery sensation throughout my entire body. My fingers loosened its hold on the paws and the monster took the chance to tighten its own grip on me. It then flung me to a nearby Deli, my body etching a Type Two Radion sized hole in the wall. Damn it! I thought adventurers were supposed to be smart. And here I thought they were more respectable a few years earlier¡­ The bear was approaching me and I needed to think of something quick before it manhandled me a second time. A test of strength was something I wanted initially but it wasn''t fun anymore when the energy I needed to win wasn¡¯t the¡­ Oh! I know! I quickly scrambled to my feet and readied my fists, the bear ignoring my newly acquired confidence as it stepped inside as radiated an ura of deliberate malice. Its massive size didn¡¯t just create a hole. It destroyed the entire front side. It bared its emerald teeth and began swiping at the shelves, toppling them with ease as it closed the distance between us. Then, it stood on its rear legs, towering over me, and swung a massive paw in a wide arc. I ducked low just in time and drove my fist into its gut with everything I had, the bear vomiting a stream of green liquid on me. Whether that liquid was blood or vomit I didn¡¯t know, but it was radioactive energy and that was all I needed. A burst of energy filled my body and I aimed another fist at the staggering bear, this time its head. Radioactive power shot out from my elbow, rocketing my arm forward until my punch completely obliterated the thing¡¯s head, green blood and brain matter splattering across all the various foods and drinks on the floor. Once I descended back down, I immediately began to drink the bear¡¯s blood while my fingertips absorbed the rest my mouth couldn¡¯t reach. There were different ways to use my ability and sadly, this disgusting method was one of them. Thankfully, I had no taste buds! Once I depleted the bear of its essence, I noticed a difference in me that I haven¡¯t felt in a while. I¡¯ve been using my bullet technique for so long, I forgot how it felt like to have my body be this energized. This fueled. This whole ¡°Kill Jason mission¡± Jesus assigned me didn¡¯t seem as bad as before. But not even this power could defeat that maniac. Wherever that Type Two was, I needed to absorb it. Maybe I¡¯ll be lucky enough to save that idiot Elias before he potentially gets killed by that thing. I flew out of the Deli and zoomed through the sky, scanning the area to see if Elias had gone back on his initial plan. However, to my surprise, Elias was right in front of the Barclays Center and¡­so was the Type Two Radion! I lowered myself till I could get a better look at what the thing looked like and as soon as I did, the Type Two Radion raised its hand, beckoning to the vines on the ground. The plants were under its control! Chapter 20: Fighting a Plant Zombie! Elias froze at the entrance of the Barclays Center, his eyes wide as the vines writhed around him like snakes waiting for the kill. I clenched my fists, still charged from the radioactive bear¡¯s blood, and bolted down toward him. The guy still had my status board in his bag and I couldn¡¯t risk him getting torn apart by that plant monster. I was only a couple meters from the ground before a Venus Flytrap sprouted from the concrete and chomped down on me, trapping me inside its giant mouth. While the feeling didn''t hurt me physically, the plant¡¯s jaws still smothered me like two blocks of steel, restricting my movements. There was enough of an opening to see that the Type Two was approaching me through the air, standing on what I suspected to be one of the plants near the arena. ¡°You¡­are like me,¡± she said, her voice raspy and gravelly. ¡°Are you¡­the daddy I¡¯ve been looking for?¡± So I was right! That voice from that SB call came from her. But that would mean that this zombie girl is like me! Is she attacking me ¡®cause she thinks I¡¯m just another unintelligent Type Two? The Flytrap opened up some more and I got a better look at what the Type Two looked like. She had on a short dress of sorts. It was made of vines, tightly coiled around her feminine body with radioactive ooze as a replacement for hair. She didn¡¯t have a visible skeleton like me as the entirety of her body was composed of that green ooze. Well, I couldn¡¯t tell if all of it was. Only her legs, arms and head weren¡¯t covered. ¡°How long have you been like this?¡± she asked, tilting her head in curiosity. ¡°I don¡¯t remember¡­who I used to be.¡± Memory loss? That¡¯s weird. I know I had a bit of amnesia when I first became a zombie, but it wore off pretty quickly the moment I thought of Sunshine. ¡°I don¡¯t know. I guess a couple of weeks,¡± I answered, trying to push my head out further. ¡°What about you?¡± ¡°So¡­you¡¯re not the daddy I¡¯ve been looking for.¡± She sat down on what I now recognized to be a floating leaf. ¡°I don¡¯t know how long I¡¯ve been searching. I¡¯ve been like this for¡­so long.¡± ¡°Ah, that sucks,¡± I said sarcastically. ¡°But don¡¯t worry! Once I absorb you, you won¡¯t have to be a zombie for much longer.¡± She closed the distance between us and gave me a blank stare. ¡°So, you want to¡­heal me? You don¡¯t have to worry¡­about that. I need to stay as a zombie¡­to protect my daughter. From these humans. And this¡­world.¡± I paused for a couple seconds, processing what she just told me. Then, I asked ¡°You have a daughter too?¡± Surprisingly, the ooze above her chin curled into an innocent smile. ¡°Too? That word suggests that you have one as well,¡± she said, excitedly kicking up her feet. ¡°Isn¡¯t that just wonderful? What¡¯s her name? I bet it¡¯s a cute one.¡± ¡°Her name¡¯s¡­Sunshine.¡± ¡°Wooow. That¡¯s almost like my daughter¡¯s name. Her name is Sunflower. Well, that''s her new name. I got rid of her old name. It didn''t really fit what I wanted her to be.¡± ¡°Can I just ask¡­do you know where a ¡®Victoria¡¯ could be around here? There was this man who I heard was with a kid when they were in that arena down there. That kid¡¯s name was Victoria. I¡¯m gonna hope she¡¯s still alive so could you tell me where-¡± ¡°There is no¡­Victoria,¡± she interrupted, her voice growing angry. ¡°I only have a Sunflower.¡± ¡°What do you mean there''s no Victoria!?¡± I shouted, my tone tense. ¡°Is she dead? Did you kill that little girl like you killed that man?¡±Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. She clenched her head, seemingly in pain. ¡°Her name isn''t¡­Victoria. My daughter¡¯s new name is-¡± ¡°There''s a mother with us, hysterical, because her daughter went missing and you''re probably the only one who can tell her what happened. And if she¡¯s already dead¡­¡± The energy in my body started to burn. ¡°I mean¡­Geez. You used to be a human. What kind of sick fuck takes a parent¡¯s child away from them? Just ¡®cause you turned into a zombie, doesn¡¯t mean you gotta act like one!¡± ¡°Just¡­stop tal-¡± ¡°And you call yourself a mother? How would your daughter feel if she knew how much of a sick murd-¡± Something heavy slammed into my body, pushing me down to the ground below whilst I was still imprisoned within the Venus Flytrap. I barely had enough time to think of my next move before a barrage of hits came raining down on my back, keeping me pinned. I scratched, clawed, and tugged at the Flytrap¡¯s inside, but if it was unbothered by the beat down occurring outside of it, then what difference did I make? It was too difficult for me to focus and charge up some big energy attack when it felt like a Gatling gun was firing at me¡ªexcept instead of bullets, it was launching bombs that exploded the moment they touched me. After what felt like an eternity, the onslaught finally ceased. The Type Two hovered back down, stopping just inches away from me. Her lifeless, black eyes stared into mine, as if I were gazing into two endless black holes. ¡°How¡­are you still alive?¡± she said, poking at my teeth. ¡°I gave you everything I had.¡± I chuckled. ¡°Well, clearly it wasn¡¯t enough. You forget I¡¯m a zombie? I can¡¯t die.¡± ¡°Oooh yeah¡­I faced that same problem too. But now that my Sunflower is back, I don¡¯t need to die anymore. Isn¡¯t that¡­¡± She sighed sadly. ¡°Wonderful.¡± I stuck my hand out of the mouth¡¯s opening and touched the hair over her shoulder. ¡°You¡¯re gonna die no matter what you do ¡®cause I need to absorb you for the sake of protecting my own daughter. And I need to make sure that woman¡¯s daughter is safe from you.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t kill¡­I only took back what was mine!¡± , she yelled, slapping my hand away. ¡°You know, if you¡­apologized to me, I¡¯ll consider forgiving you. Oh, and¡­and you have to say ¡®honey, I¡¯m home¡¯ for me too.¡± Man, this lady is desperate¡­Didn¡¯t she just want me dead!? ¡°Fine,¡± I muttered. ¡°Come closer.¡± She brought the side of her head to my mouth, acting like it was an ear. ¡°You¡¯ll never be¡­a true parent.¡± Suddenly, a thick vine pierced through my torso with brutal precision. The Venus Flytrap disintegrated to dust as the plant lifted me into the air like a skewered doll. While I was dangling in the air, I finally spotted Elias who had also been captured by the Type Two. Though, instead of being trapped in the mouth of a Flytrap, vines were wrapped firmly around his body. His mouth had also been covered so if he was crying for my help, I couldn¡¯t hear him. ¡°My plants¡­don¡¯t hurt you? But how?¡± she questioned, readying up another attack. ¡°I guess¡­you¡¯re too weak too!¡± I shouted confidently, grabbing onto the vine. From what I learned from my new body these past couple of weeks, normal things that cause pain to humans don¡¯t hurt me at all. Which confused me since¡­aren¡¯t giant plants that can be controlled by a simple gesture not normal at all!? This ability should¡¯ve been in the same category as what those Radius use. Something about these plants had Radius qualities whilst retaining their normalcy. However, I realized something once I shifted my focus to the vine. They were normal plants and yet, they were shrouded with a green aura. An aura that I could absorb. ¡°What¡¯s happening to the plant?¡± she asked, slowly spinning around the plant. ¡°Power¡­is going down? No¡­being taken from me. What are you doing to it!?¡± ¡°This is your last chance, Plant Lady! Tell me what happened to that girl before I absorb you,¡± I threatened, feeling the vine becoming softer. ¡°I¡¯m gonna absorb you anyway, so you should do it before you die. If your humanity and parenthood mean anything to you still.¡± The Type Two aimed her palm at the ground, her oozy hair ominously rising. ¡°How many times¡­do I have to tell you? My daughter is not dead!¡± ¡°Grassland¡± In that instant, a field of grass erupted from the cracked concrete, widening the cracks into deep crevices as every blade of green stretched skyward. I was just about to release my energy, but then something¡­unexpected happened. The zombie lady let out a piercing scream, her body convulsing as her levitating leaf descended to the grass. The vine embedded in my torso withered away in seconds, and I began to plummet¡ªuntil I activated my rocket feet technique, my wound closing up soon after. I caught Elias before he could fall and noticed a spray bottle in his hand. ¡°What did you do?¡± I asked him, flying back down. Elias laughed, which seemed weird given the situation. ¡°Gave that bitch a taste of herbicide!¡± he said, shaking the bottle. ¡°It only took five sprays to do all this. Imagine what the whole damn bottle could do.¡± ¡°Wait¡­herbicide!? You knew the Type Two had plant powers and you didn¡¯t tell anyone?¡± We reached the ground and Elias jumped off of me. Instead of answering my question, he bolted towards the Barclay Center¡¯s entrance, hopping over the twitching zombie. ¡°Elias, stop! If you knew the specifics of this zombie, then does that mean you didn¡¯t tell-¡± ¡°Wait!¡± The Type Two raised her hand toward the giant rose at the center of the arena, and it rushed toward Elias, swiftly blocking his path. ¡°The girl¡­is here!¡± The middle of the rose opened, and to my surprise, an unconscious girl inside. She looked about Sunshine¡¯s age and¡­was completely made of grass. Chapter 21: Weed Can Cure My Daughter!? Something about Elias has been bugging me for a while. I remembered him saying that he, Rosey and that other resource adventurer had come from a civilization not too far from Hallowsville. About a thirty minute drive. Yet, every time that I looked in the map that Jesus input into the SB, I never saw anything close to a city or town near Hallowsville. According to him, the people in the Underground cities were the ones who created and distributed the Status Boards to all the various surviving towns and cities. The map feature was a big part of this invention as it allowed for an easier way to trade materials and other resources. The problem with that system was that newly established civilizations were not added into the map until they were ¡°fully¡± established. Apparently, wherever Elias came from was one of them. Although, that wasn¡¯t the only thing about Elias¡¯ story I had a problem with. The sole reason they came to this part of Brooklyn was to find Brandon and that kid, yet there he was, pointing the spray bottle of herbicide at her. Without hesitation, I rocketed towards him with my palm aimed towards the bottle. All I intended to do was snatch it from him, but my body had other things in mind as vines shot out from me, wrapping around the man¡¯s neck and torso. I almost thought that the plant zombie had attacked me again till I noticed something was different about these ones. They didn¡¯t just have energy flowing on them. They were made of it. And they were coming out¡­of me! ¡°Wh-What the hell is this!?¡± screamed Elias, raking at the energy vines. ¡°Hey! Zombie costume guy, get this off me already!¡± ¡°Sorry, but I can''t do that. I''m the one who''s doing this to you,¡± I admitted, gripping my wrist. ¡°What!? Why?¡± ¡°You mind explaining why you were about to spray that girl with your herbicide?¡± I questioned, approaching the restrained man. ¡°That¡¯s Rosey¡¯s daughter, right? We need to get her out of there!¡± Elias scoffed. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me that costume blinds your eyes too. That girl is already de-¡± ¡°She¡¯s not dead!¡± the Type Two interrupted, crawling towards my feet. ¡°She¡¯s only sleeping; I would never kill my baby.¡± ¡°Jesus, am I the only one with eyes here?¡± Elias remarked. ¡°She¡¯s literally made of grass!¡± ¡°That is¡­ a temporary form,¡± she responded, holding out her hand. ¡°At least, until I can completely¡­ change her.¡± I quickly stomped on her hand. ¡°You¡¯re not doing any more of those plant moves, got that? Now, how do you change her back?¡± Sure, wasting my time by asking her these questions only delayed me absorbing her. But I couldn¡¯t risk the possibility of that girl somehow disappearing if I absorbed the Type Two. ¡°Don¡¯t worry¡­ Sunflower,¡± she muttered. ¡°Mommy¡¯s gonna protect you from all these bad men that want to take you away from me¡­again.¡± ¡°Hey! Do you even know how to change her back? Don¡¯t tell me she¡¯s stuck like that?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll get rid¡­of all the bad men. Then, we can work on those flowers you always loved¡­¡± ¡°Answer my question!¡± I yelled, my patience lowering. ¡°That¡¯s not your daughter! That¡¯s someone else¡¯s-¡± ¡°Save your breath!¡± barked Elias, now pulling at my vines. ¡°The bitch is straight out of the goddamn looney bin! Spouting nonsense and other bullshit. You¡¯re going to tie me up, but not the zombie!?¡± ¡°I can''t risk letting you kill that kid,¡± I said, my voice stern. ¡°She¡¯s dead!¡± He sprayed my vines with his herbicide but they weren¡¯t affected. ¡°Damn it! Let go of me!¡± I yanked him away from the unconscious kid and he landed right behind me, hitting the soft ground with a thud. I then turned my attention back to the zombie and said, ¡°Listen, you have to be perfectly honest with me. Is she alive?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Her voice was growing weak as daylight began to fade. ¡°Then you need to understand that whoever this ¡®Sunflower¡¯ is, that kid isn¡¯t her. Her name is Victoria and she has a mother in this city desperate to see her again. If you truly care about motherhood and being a mother, then you should understand that being under your control isn¡¯t what that girl wants.¡± ¡°What¡­are you trying to say to me?¡± I ignored Elias¡¯ babbling and continued. ¡°I¡¯m saying that a child will never be happy if the parent is constantly forcing them to do whatever they think is best for them. Or¡­forcing them to be something they don¡¯t want to be. I have¡­experience with that. Experience¡­doing that. It hurts but you gotta let them go. Let that girl go.¡± She paused for a while, pondering what I just told her. Then, she finally spoke. ¡°Tomorrow¡­¡± The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. ¡°Huh? What do you mean tomorrow? You¡¯re going to let her go tomorrow?¡± I asked, confused on what made her believe she was in a position to make demands. ¡°Tomorrow¡­we¡¯ll decide who¡¯ll keep the girl for themselves,¡± she said, the rose stretching toward her as the kid was pushed back inside. ¡°Me or you.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t think you¡¯re getting away!¡± I directed my palm toward the rose, aiming to fire out another set of vines to stop its movements. To my dismay though, the only thing that came out was a small flower, pathetically drooping forward. Abandoning that plan, I charged forward, but my body had lost all control of my new abilities. Leaves sprouted from my feet, tripping me, while vines emitted from my body and curled around me¡ªthe energy I had absorbed earlier seemed desperate to make me fail. ¡°My plants that you¡­absorbed; it seems like they don¡¯t want¡­me to get hurt.¡± The rose picked up the Type Two and slowly retreated. ¡°And you still call me¡­a bad mother.¡± ¡°Come back!¡± I wriggled, trying to free myself. ¡°I¡¯m not wasting another day on you!¡± ¡±You see¡­the thing about plants is that they get pretty tired when the sun begins to set. No sun means no energy and¡­the sky is losing that light. It¡¯s only fair for you, a father, to give the mother time to rest before we play again and¡­mess around.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not gonna wait! Once I free myself, I¡¯m storming that arena and finding-¡± ¡°I should let you know¡­¡± she cut off, the rose lifting her to the sky. ¡°If any one of you intrudes into my home¡­I will kill this girl.¡± The second I heard this, my body began to boil profusely. Here I thought she was just some demented former human driven, insane by her new form. Maybe she was a mother in her past life, and that kid had stirred up confusion and a strong emotion in her. For a fleeting moment, I almost reconsidered my vow to absorb her¡­ ¡°What do you mean kill her!?¡± I shouted, attempting to use any other technique in my arsenal, but more plants burst out instead. ¡°I thought you said you would never hurt your daughter!¡± ¡°Let¡¯s just say¡­there are a few ways to get to the preferred outcome I want for my Sunflower. Wait until daylight returns¡­and you¡¯ll get your own preferred outcome.¡± Her voice echoed with a chilling finality as the giant rose drew her further upward. There was nothing I could do but helplessly watch as she retreated back into the arena as the night sky finally loomed over the city. ***** ¡°This is so bullshit! The hell¡¯s the matter with you!?¡± snarled Elias, kicking down the door to the hotel¡¯s third floor. ¡°I was about to make the biggest grab of the whole goddamn apocalypse and you come and stop me?¡± ¡°Just keep moving, Elias!¡± I shouted, my fingers aimed at his head as we speed walked through the hallway. ¡°You heard her. We try anything funny and that little girl¡¯s dead. You want that on your conscience!? Knowing you could¡¯ve saved a kid but made the wrong decision.¡± ¡°Man, fuck her!¡± he spat, stopping at a door labeled ¡°315¡± and turning to face me. ¡°How many times do I hafta tell you? She¡¯s dead. Dead, dead, super dead! And why¡¯re you wasting all this emotion on some kid. Kids die in the apocalypse. It¡¯s normal!¡± ¡°Victoria¡¯s still alive, Elias! I don¡¯t believe a lot of things my enemies tell me, but I know that Type Two isn¡¯t lying about that. And tell me one thing before you run that big mouth of yours again. What¡¯s in that arena that makes you disregard the life of that little girl you supposedly came all this way for!? Don¡¯t tell me a damn status board is-¡± Elias snorted. ¡°A status board? I mean, yeah I want to get that thing too but you can''t be that dense to think I¡¯d risk my life for something replaceable.¡± ¡°Huh? Then what do you want there?¡± He sighed, furrowing his bushy eyebrows. ¡°Jesus Christ almighty¡­it¡¯s the weeed! The weed.¡± Weed¡­? Weed!? I decked him in his slimy face, knocking him to the ground. ¡°You want to kill a little girl to catch some temporary high!? You junkie piece of-¡± ¡°The hell are you babbling about!?¡±, he groaned, grabbing his jaw. ¡°There¡¯s an epidemic going around the past year! Got people dyin¡¯ because of this random ass disease and no one knows where it¡¯s coming from. But the weed¡­the weeed relieves the issues kinda. How do you not know this?¡± An epidemic? Wait¡­does that mean what those Radius guys weren¡¯t lying about Sunshine infecting people? But more importantly, this weed¡­maybe it could save her. ¡°So this weed in that arena¡­is it like a cure?¡± I asked, hoping he would say yes. ¡°I-I don¡¯t know¡­could be! Those Underground cities don¡¯t tell us anythin¡¯¡ªjust forces us to get it, farm it, whatever they want. I just know it helps¡­with the pain.¡± I grabbed him by his camo jacket and yanked him up. ¡°Does it help with¡­coughing up blood? Or keeping you awake at night? Or-¡± ¡°You¡¯re asking me these questions like you got infected,¡± he remarked, hands shaking. ¡°Yeah, I did¡­so does it do all those things or what?¡± ¡°No you didn¡¯t,¡± Elias denied, sneering. ¡°You can¡¯t get the disease. You¡¯re a zombie.¡± Upon hearing this, I released my grip on him. ¡°What? How¡¯d you-¡± ¡°You think I¡¯m deaf?¡± he asked, standing back up. ¡°I heard that Mother Nature freak practically say you¡¯re a zombie. Loud and clear too. She tied me up in the air, remember?¡± ¡°Well, clearly you saw from our time together that I don¡¯t act like a regular zombie. I actually used to be a human.¡± ¡°Every zombie used to be a human,¡± he retorted. ¡°You¡¯re not special¡ªjust a different case.¡± ¡°So, what? You think you got some leverage over me ¡®cause you know what I am now? I can easily stop you before you contact anyone that could actually hurt me.¡± He snickered, taking a few steps back. ¡°Technically, I already had them contacted.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°You know that beacon I was trying to activate while you were wrestling that bear? Well, while that light usually is there for someone close by like me to find it, it also sends out a signal to every single goddamn person in good ole¡¯ New York. Including all those superpower people.¡± Without thinking, I grabbed him by his neck, choking him with one hand. ¡°Turn the thing off. Now!¡± Despite the situation he was in, Elias still found it appropriate to laugh in my face. ¡°Even if I wanted to, I can¡¯t turn that thing off. Someone¡¯s gonna come for that SB even if I don¡¯t. You could kill me right now and¡­somebody will still come.¡± Damn! I finally get the appeal of this weed he wants so bad but still¡­ ¡°However, I can delay the process by an hour. Just let me go to that arena tonight and gather some of that weed up.¡± ¡°How would you delay it? Tell me.¡± His lips curled into a smirk. ¡°A press of a button on my SB is all it takes. And if you¡¯re thinking of stealing my shit and doing it yourself, just know you need a password to get inside. And obviously I¡¯m not going to tell you that.¡± This is just great! It¡¯s not like I didn¡¯t want to nab some of that weed for Sunshine, but could I risk that kid dying like with¡­Johnny. I guess in the grand scheme of things¡­Sunshine¡¯s life matters more to me. It¡¯s not like she¡¯ll know about any of this anyway. Besides, I could barely beat one Radius on my own. Imagine more of them. I didn¡¯t even realize that I let go of the man until he asked, ¡°Does that mean we have a deal?¡± I hesitated to answer for a bit. Then, I said, ¡°Yes. Just uh¡­don¡¯t make a lot of noise in there.¡± I couldn¡¯t even hide the defeat in my voice. ¡°Maybe she won¡¯t notice you if you¡¯re quiet.¡± ¡°That sounds like a waste of time, zombie man.¡± He proceeded to walk out of my sight and down the hallway. ¡°I¡¯ll just use this spray and I¡¯ll be out of there in a few hours¡­.probably. I usually have slaves do this shit for me.¡± ¡°Slaves?¡±, I said, whirling my body around. ¡°Oh yeah. Since we¡¯re not lying to each other anymore, guess I¡¯ll tell you where I¡¯m really from.¡± He turned his head to me and stared at me casually. ¡°I¡¯m from the Slavelands.¡± He continued walking away, not even waiting for a response back. But what the hell was I gonna say, right? Me helping a Slavemaster in the apocalypse¡­it couldn¡¯t be that bad¡­ Maybe I should just go with him and absorb that Type Two while she¡¯s still weak. Then, I¡¯ll just take all that weed for myself. Who cares if that kid dies in the process? I¡­I don¡¯t know her. She¡¯s not my daughter. I was doing this all for Sunshine. This is what my daughter wants. This is what she needs. Who cares about some stupid epidemic? Screw the apocalypse! I just gotta-I just gotta keep doing what I have to do to make sure that she has a good future. That is¡­That¡¯s something¡­my father would say. Damn¡­ Now that I think about it, I never actually told Sunshine her disease was infectious. Giving lectures to a plant zombie about being a good parent¡­ What does Sunshine want? Chapter 22: What Would She Want? For some reason, I decided to enter Room 315 and was a little baffled with what I saw inside. The hotel I was in was about 15 minutes away from Barclay¡¯s Center so I still had time left to make a decision. There were unopened bottles on the small table near one of the queen-size beds, empty bottles on the brown-stained carpet¡ªsome by the scratched window¡ªand a few shattered ones. I heard the sound of alcohol dripping into a small, used trash bag and slid the half-empty bottle into it. When I closed the door, I noticed that the doorknob from the inside bore a couple scars, its metal dented and warped as though it was repeatedly struck by something. I looked over to Rosey, seated at the edge of the bed with her head bowed, and noticed a small hammer in her hand. Her grip on it was loosening. Her grip on the knife wasn¡¯t. ¡°Didn¡¯t know they still had beer in here,¡± I said softly, crushing the bottles as I approached her. ¡°Or is this wine¡­? I don¡¯t really drink so I wouldn¡¯t know.¡± ¡°Me¡­neither,¡± she said¡­well, she tried to say. I think she tried to. Her words slurred out of her mouth in a disjointed mess. ¡°Master Corleone doesn¡¯t¡­allow us to drink. It makes us confused and¡­think more.¡± I paused, a little surprised she unintentionally admitted to who she was so casually. ¡°I¡¯m guessing your daughter¡¯s a slave too?¡± Rosey didn''t answer. I guess it was pretty distasteful of me to ask that. She began to sway unnaturally, giving me a fiery glare in between movements. ¡°You think I''m stupid? My daughter''s been suffering every day without me by her side and you two have the audacity to abandon her?¡± ¡°Your daughter''s alive,¡± I assured. ¡°But we ran into some trou-¡± Rosey drunkenly attacked my chest with the knife she held onto so greatly. The knife didn¡¯t pierce through me¨Cshe simply kept it nestled between my pecs as she mildly groaned. I made a pretend sigh and grabbed the knife from her yielding hand. ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± I said, tossing the bottle to the other bed flooded by other bottles. ¡°I understand the emotions you¡¯re feeling right now. Your daughter¡¯s in a scary place and you can¡¯t help her righ-¡± ¡°You don¡¯t understand anything!¡± Rosey shrieked, hurling the hammer at my face. ¡°You¡¯re a zombie! I heard Elias say it loud and clear.¡± ¡°Yeah, I know,¡± I responded, placing the hammer on the little space the table had left. ¡°You¡¯re a zombie¡­you don¡¯t have a brain to think or remember all the pain you¡¯re about to cause.¡± Her eyelids began to droop over her eyes. ¡°You don¡¯t have a heart to¡­feel any sadness or regret about what¡¯s about to happen to my Sun¡­to Victoria!¡± I remained silent, absorbing all of her words. Her words didn¡¯t sound like they were plagued with anger or hatred. Though, that could¡¯ve just been the drinks manipulating her voice. ¡°You¡¯re one to talk, you know,¡± she continued, slowly dragging herself to the other side of the bed. ¡°Complaining about someone else''s parenting¡­you basically sided with that zombie over my baby. At least I, her mommy, would¡¯ve done something to stop that monster. But youuu¡­¡± She wagged her finger at me and scowled. ¡°So bold to say ¡®you¡¯ll never be a true mother.¡¯ What do you know about having a child!? You can¡¯t have a child! You¡¯ll never be a parent. And if you were one, you¡¯d be shit at the job.¡± Rosey opened her mouth, presumably to criticize me again, but she vomited instead. All over the bed sheet. Ignoring this, I walked over to the other and sat on the unwashed bed. ¡°Sunshine used to love syrup sandwiches.¡± ¡°Syrup¡­sandwiches?¡± asked Rosey, confusedly. ¡°Yeah. And I mean she could eat any sandwich I gave her as long as there was syrup between the breads. Ketchup? Mustard? Screw all that! Syrup was her true desire. And when I found out she liked syrup so much, you wanna know what I did?¡± ¡°You¡­ate it with her?¡± ¡°You damn right I did! I ate those syrup sandwiches everyday with her. But something strange happened after a couple days of doing that. She stopped eating it completely and changed her favorite food to pizza! Can you believe that? Not wanting to share her favorite meal with her own father?¡±Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. She sat up, seemingly interested in my story. ¡°Well, that¡¯s¡­just rude. Why would she do something like that?¡± ¡°I asked myself the same question, but then I realized the answer was pretty simple. I think a large part of me was forcing her to share that favorite food with me and by doing that, I was practically forcing her to eat it. I¡¯m sure she noticed that¡­with how smart she is.¡± ¡°But you still ate the pizza with her, right?¡± ¡°Of course I didn¡¯t,¡± I said, pulling her out the way before her vomit splashed on her face. ¡°She didn¡¯t want to do that so who am I to force her to do something I wanted for myself. That was something my own dad always did and I hated that so much. I never wanted to raise her like my own father raised me, and yet I was unknowingly.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t really get the big deal though. It¡¯s just food,¡± she remarked. ¡°You don¡¯t have to beat yourself up over that.¡± ¡°It¡¯s¡­not just the food. A lot of things this past month made me realize that. Hell, a lot of things today made me realize that.¡± Rosey¡¯s eyes narrowed in suspicion, like her sober self had come back for a few moments. ¡°What are you trying to tell me?¡± ¡°You said before that I would be a shitty parent. Well, you¡¯re right¡ªI am shit. I sheltered her from the world and from other people. That made her weak. I was so desperate to get rid of this disease that she has that I kept giving her these useless drugs and I only made it worse. I never even apologized to her for that¡­¡± She stayed silent. ¡°I was actually planning on going back there with Elias. Not to save your daughter but to gather up these things that Sunshine could really use right now. But¡­¡± I covered my face and gripped the ooze. ¡°A thought came into my head. If I did that, then I would be responsible for the death of your daughter. That shouldn''t have mattered to me though. Sunshine is the most important person in my life and I shouldn''t be so concerned about the life of some other random child. And yet, I still am.¡± ¡°You feel¡­regret,¡± she said, her attitude calmer. ¡°Possibly. I hate that there¡¯s a part of me that doesn¡¯t want to go through with it tonight. I know as a father, especially with her situation, I should be doing everything it takes to ensure a good future for her. But to do it at the expense of another kid¡¯s life¡­¡± I hesitated to continue for a bit. ¡°If that is something that she would prefer me to do, I don¡¯t think I can go through with that.¡± ¡°I think you¡¯re going about this the wrong way,¡± she suggested, sitting on the bed. ¡°You said before that you hated when your dad forced you to do things you didn¡¯t want to do and that he controlled you. Don¡¯t you think your relationship with your daughter is the same way?¡± ¡°Yeah, I already said that I had a tendency to-¡± ¡°I¡¯m not talking about the control you had over her,¡± she cut off. ¡°I¡¯m talking about the control she has over you. You think that¡¯s what she would want, but you¡¯ve never talked to her about any of this before. Look deep inside of that undead body of yours and ask yourself this; would the expense of someone¡¯s life for your daughter¡¯s happiness really make her happy?¡± I scoured through every nook and cranny of the brain I had lost, all in an effort to find that one memory that could help me answer that question. Then, I remembered. Sunshine and I were scavenging for resources in the wilderness when we came across an unfortunate situation. Not for us but for someone else. It was a boy, looked to be around twelve or thirteen, and he was being cornered by a pack of radioactive dogs. My daughter wanted to save her. But what was she gonna do? She was just a weak little girl. I didn¡¯t say that with any malice in my voice. I just wanted to protect her. But she wasn¡¯t weak back then. I was. Fear struck my heart seeing those hungry beasts and I didn¡¯t want to fight them. Bravery was written all over my daughter¡¯s face. She was only seven at the time. ¡°Alright, I get what you¡¯re trying to say here but I still need to help her,¡± I said, standing up. Rosey sighed, sinking into the bed¡¯s stale embrace.¡°I didn¡¯t say you shouldn¡¯t help her. I said that you¡¯re trying to achieve this goal in a way that isn¡¯t true to what you want. You¡¯re only thinking of one path and that¡¯s breaking into that arena and getting Victoria killed so you can gather up some plants. Then, there¡¯s the second path of not going at all and staying here. But you¡¯re forgetting about the third path.¡± ¡°A third one?¡± I asked, anxious to know what this mysterious option was. ¡°Yeah, and that¡¯s doing both. Saving my baby girl and getting those plants. Is it really that hard to find a way to do both?¡± Both!? Is there really a way for me to do¡­No! Stop thinking so negatively, Jerome! Of course there¡¯s a way! That resolve and determination I had when I defied the Radius back in the Underground City¡­Find it, grab onto it, and absorb it into my system. The option to do both¡­if I realized that back then with Johnny, then I could¡¯ve saved him from that masked maniac. Are you really gonna make that same mistake again, Jerome Hunter! Something began to beat in my chest¨Ca similar feeling that I had right before I defeated Dante. It was telling me something. A sentence that I needed to hear. ¡°Have so much strength that a infinite number of options are available to you!¡± I hardened my fist, bones near my mouth cracking with each passing second. I looked in the mirror across the two beds and noticed a difference. A thin smile from ear to ear was now etched on my face. A permanent toothy smile. ¡°Thank you, Rosey,¡± I said sincerely. ¡°I have to go now.¡± ¡°Ahhh, my stomach,¡± she moaned. ¡°I might just¡­vomit here again.¡± A quiet laugh came out of me as I prepared to leave the room when I was stopped by one final question from Rosey. ¡°Did Sunshine¡­ever go back to eating those¡­syrup sandwiches?¡± I turned to her and said ¡°Nope. But now that I think about it, I think she just likes the actual syrup more. After all, every time she went off to eat her lunch, her breath still smelled like syrup.¡± ¡°Hmm, is that so?¡± I think I saw her mouth form a smile but I wasn¡¯t sure. ¡°I was wrong about what I said before. You¡¯re not a bad parent.¡± I don¡¯t exactly know why I told her all of those things. I knew there was this feeling that my body was giving me. The feeling that I needed to talk or bond with this person. Perhaps it was that need to connect with another parent in a forsaken world like ours. Although, I felt the same thing when I talked to that Type Two Radion before. What was this? Now that I remember it, Rosey told me things that she would only know if she was outside with Elias and I. How did she know some of that? Maybe her drunken ramblings made her say things randomly. So I pushed that thought aside and made my way out of Room 315. It was time to create that third option. Chapter 23: In Only 15 Seconds! As I stood on the roof of the hotel, the remaining energy in my body made me realize something. The Type Two¡¯s plant ability that I absorbed had become more tamed. An ability that I could manage like my standard energy blasts and freely use to my heart''s content. From my understanding, this only happened because of that resolve-boosting conversation I had with Rosey. I had no idea why this was. What I did know was that I was fifteen minutes away from Barclays Center and I planned on arriving there in only fifteen seconds. I steadied my stance, planting my feet firmly as I cupped my hands at my side as vines and skinny trees emerged from my back and gathered around the radioactive energy building in my hands. Orbs appeared in the air in front of me and were all swiftly led to my palm by the plants, like an aircraft marshal guiding a plane back to land. I knew the weight was increasing, and yet it did not feel as heavy as it once was. The large ball in the center of my hands pulsed vehemently, causing the roof to tremble as weeds sprouted from the soles of my feet. The combination of my plants and my technique cast a green illumination in the night sky-¡ªa chilling message for the giant resting rose in the distance, which seemed oblivious to it. Then, I thrust my hand forward with all my might and roared. ¡°Fatherly Beam!¡± The brilliant, enormous attack sliced through the air like wet tissue, the shockwave¡¯s force completely eviscerating the roof as the beam shot five blocks away.The energy weeds that had spawned from my feet fired a dark green gas that ejected me through the sky until I was face to face with the beam that I had just launched. Three seconds. The vines and slim trees that surrounded the attack steered it toward the arena, keeping the energy in place while I activated my Rocket Feet technique to compete with the overwhelming speed. A fire had ignited inside my body and it¡¯d be ridiculous if I didn¡¯t go full throttle! Six seconds. Ahead of me, carnivorous plants lined the path to the arena¡ªVenus Flytraps and Pitcher Plants snapping their sharp teeth in a menacing display. Without hesitation, I brought my forearms together, projecting energy to form a massive leaf. I snapped it in half with a sharp motion, dodging their relentless chomps. In a fluid strike, I diced the Pitcher Plants into shreds, while the Fatherly Beam zigzagged through the air, riddling the Flytraps with smoldering holes. Ten seconds. Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. My body was enveloped by a green aura as I placed my leaf blades forward, spearing a hole in the Barclays Center¡¯s wall like an arrow with the overwhelming intensity of a nuke. The beam crashed into the arena floor, the explosion boosting my speed until I finally shaved off a section of the roses¡¯ petals, revealing the sleeping Type Two and the little girl cradled within. Fourteen seconds I snapped my arm forward, vines shooting from my palm and catching the girl before she fell. Before the Type Two could even open her eyes, I nestled the child between my arms and rocketed out of the arena. Fifteen seconds! ***** ¡°Hey Victoria, you still alive, right?¡± I asked, shaking her gently. Her body was still made of grass. ¡° I gave up a lot of energy for you. C¡¯mon!¡± I had taken her to a random building I accidentally crashed into and¡­Hmm. I¡¯m starting to get real Deja Vu here¡­ After a couple more shakes and begging, Victoria¡¯s eyes shot open and I was shocked to see that her eyes were unusually green. ¡°Good, you¡¯re awake. Are you ok? Besides your¡­appearance.¡± Surprisingly, she stared at my whole body and didn¡¯t even flinch at the fact that a zombie was not only holding her, but also speaking. She stayed silent for what felt like minutes and I was a little eager on what her first words would be. ¡°Are¡­you gonna take me back to Master Corleone?¡± I hesitated, baffled by what she had asked me. ¡°No¡­you¡¯re not going back to the Slavelands. I¡¯m gonna take you back to your mom.¡± ¡°My mom?¡± She blinked, her face trance-like. ¡°I don¡¯t¡­have a mom anymore.¡± ¡°Huh? What are you talking about?¡± I chuckled awkwardly. ¡°Your mom¡¯s been trying to find you this whole time. And she¡¯s just a couple blocks away.¡± ¡°But my mom died¡­a year ago.¡± What!? Is something messing with this girl¡¯s memories somehow? Probably having all this grass on her for so damn long. I placed my fingertips on her blank face and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, kid. I¡¯ll absorb this off of you real quick.¡± However, Victoria grabbed my hand and squeezed it with as much power as her little hand could use. ¡°You can¡¯t absorb me¡­I need to stay like this for my mom. My mom is doing this because she¡­loves me.¡± ¡°Victoria, you¡¯re confused right now,¡± I said bluntly. ¡°I don¡¯t know what that zombie lady did to you specifically, but she¡¯s giving you these wrong thoughts in your head.¡± ¡°No. No. No!¡± she screamed, trying to pull my hand off of her. ¡°Why do you adults always get to decide who my mom is!? First, a whore. Then, a slave. And now, a zombie!? Who do you think you are?¡± I ignored her and continued at my absorption attempt when something unexpected happened. She began to scream ¡°No¡± at the top of her lungs as a tree instantly sprouted from her mouth, knocking me backwards. I regained my footing and attempted to charge back in to save the girl, but vines blasted through the wall from outside and firmly wrapped me up in place. A couple seconds passed and a familiar figure emerged from the hole to my right. It was the goddamn Plant Zombie. She smacked away the tables and chairs in her way and approached Victoria, clawing at the tree in her mouth. ¡°I can¡¯t believe that a man like you performed that feat¡­in only fifteen seconds. And you had the audacity to take my Sunflower away from me in that small amount of time.¡± Her voice was filled with rage, building up with each passing second. ¡°It¡¯s a good thing I planted that defense mechanism within her body¡ªto protect her from bad people like you.¡± ¡°Big talk coming from a zombie who stole a mother¡¯s daughter from her,¡± I retorted, tightening my body. ¡°I know us zombies don¡¯t have hearts, but if you saw how distraught that mother was with your own eyes, you¡¯d probably see that you¡¯re the only bad person here.¡± She glared at me with her hollow eyes. ¡°You say all that with such an evil smile on your face¡­¡± She lifted her hand and a part of her ooze lifted from her palm, lighting up the room in a green hue. ¡°I¡¯ll make sure to add more cracks to that ugly appearance of yours.¡± ¡°I¡¯d like to see you try!¡± Chapter 24: A Father vs A Mother! If there was one thing every human knew about zombies, it was that they always came in packs. It made perfect sense for them since one zombie by itself wasn¡¯t a threat to anyone, but gather up a group of flesh-eating monsters and they¡¯ll carve a path to humanity¡¯s destruction. I guess they were similar to humans in that way¨Cclinging to the only things they could call family so that they wouldn¡¯t be completely alone. Their only connection to their former humanity. I think deep down, that was the reason I found it so difficult to immediately absorb or even attack her. Something about my new undead biology prevented me from going through with it. No wonder my new plant-based energy turned against me when I tried to restrain her¡­ Although, since I could perfectly use these new abilities a couple minutes ago, perhaps I could finally show this Type Two what I could actually do! But first, I needed to get her damn vines off my body. ¡°Hey, Plant Lady!¡± I shouted, pulling at my restraints. ¡°You said something before about your plants having low energy during the night, right? You really think you can kill me with a weakness like that!?¡± ¡°That¡¯s exactly why I preferred to finish this fight¡­tomorrow. When the Sun, caregiver of all plants, rose again,¡± she hissed, the ball of ooze ascending to the ceiling. ¡°But I guess this will have to do.¡± Above me, the ball began to glow intensely, pulsating in green waves that danced along the room¡¯s cracked walls until the light flooded my surroundings. ¡°It¡¯s true that my babies need the Sun for more¡­power. However, light is still¡­light. Even if it comes from me.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not trying to kill Victoria, are you?¡± I questioned cautiously, trying to shuffle the vines to my hands. ¡°Or at least you don¡¯t want to kill her.¡± The moment she heard this, her hair began to rise sinisterly. ¡°What¡­did you¡­just ask me?¡± Her raspy voice ran a chill down my spine. ¡°You said you would kill that girl if I attempted to save her,¡± I responded, the vines inches away from my hands. ¡°What happened to that plan? She looks pretty alive to me.¡± ¡°How do you know that¡¯s not my tree making her move like that? Maybe the roots are¡­puppeteering her muscles and all the other tiny parts of my Sunflower¡¯s body.¡± She seemed to struggle saying that last sentence. ¡°I can see two different auras coming from that spot. One from the tree and the other from Victoria.¡± ¡°Her name¡­is Sunflower!¡±, she snarled, stabbing through my leg with another vine. ¡°Say her actual name or¡­there¡¯ll be more pain coming your way.¡± ¡°Her name isn¡¯t Sunflower, Plant Lady,¡± I said. ¡°Her name is Victoria. And I don¡¯t know I¡¯m even giving you this option again but¡­let that girl go or I¡¯m gonna do something you won¡¯t like.¡± The giant leaf she used to fly on sliced through the wall behind her and stopped at her feet. ¡°I¡¯ve had enough of people trying to give me limited options for my life so I¡¯ve decided to¡­give you limited options,¡± she said, stepping on the leaf and riding over to me. ¡°And what options are those?¡± ¡°You see, I¡¯ve actually decided to¡­spare you. Not in the way you¡¯re thinking though. I¡¯m going to kill this current, disgusting version of you and change you into something more¡­perfect for me. It¡¯s a similar process to what I¡¯m going to do with my daughter.¡± She began to caress my face gently. ¡°You said you were going to¡­absorb me. Well, how do you think it would feel for me to absorb you and turn-¡± ¡°I told you to tell me my options,¡± I demanded, staring back with my own lifeless eyes. She gasped like I said something offensive and gripped my skull. ¡°I want you to take back what you said before and call me a good mommy. Oh and say¡­¡®honey, I¡¯m home¡¯ for me and how beautiful I am too. Do that and I¡¯ll make the process of the transformation a lot less painful. After all, you will be my new¡­husband after today.¡± Husband!? I knew zombies liked to stay in packs but this was a little too much! ¡°And I assume the second option is that you¡¯ll make it as painful as possible?¡± Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. ¡°Good guess,¡± she answered, taking out a seed from her dress. ¡°Well, I¡¯d like to believe that there are a lot more options than just those two.¡± ¡°And what possibly could those b-¡± Before she could finish her sentence, I rocketed out of her sight, crashing through a wall as I exited the building. Debris rained down, but I could still see her through the hole I¡¯d made, oblivious to where I had disappeared too. Seizing the opportunity, I fired a radioactive bullet through the hole before gravity began to pull me down. However, my shot had clearly missed as I was suddenly pelted with a swarm of leaves that tore half of the building the Plant Lady was in to shreds, battering me till I ended up colliding with a wall behind me. I swiped a couple of the leaves from the air and flew higher up, tanking the brunt of the attacks while they shredded another unlucky building. I absorbed the aura emitted by the leaves, healing the hole in my thigh and creating a few leaves of my own. I readied my battle stance with my new Leaf Blade technique and even though I was a little far away from her now, I could still tell that a face of anger and contempt was being directed to me. ¡°You kept calling me a disrespectful name earlier¡­Plant Lady! That was the name!¡± she yelled, hovering up with her leaf. ¡°Yeah, so what!? You¡¯re the one with the memory loss, remember?¡± I retorted, shooting a few more bullets to see if I could get lucky but she slapped them away with a vine. ¡°I remember¡­my name now! The name they took from me! Call me Rosalina¡ªRosalina Ramirez!¡± she barked, large carnivorous plants erupting from the concrete below. Since Rosalina and I are of the same species, that would mean we share one thing in common. We both can¡¯t feel pain no matter how much power we attack each other with. Though, she definitely has me beat in the numbers department and the strength of each of her hits is no joke. I couldn¡¯t even break out the mouth of that Venus Flytrap last time. The only way I was going to defeat her is by absorbing her completely and in order to do that, that light ball above her head needed to disappear. I zoomed at her, slicing up all the carnivorous plants to bits. I was mere inches away from cleaving her ooze orb in half before a familiar, heavy attack slammed me down to the ground. Confused, I looked up from the crater I was in and realized the Type Two had used a whole damn tree to strike me down. Before I could react, the massive trunk came hurtling toward me like a giant arrow. Thinking quickly, I raised my leaf blades and fired, slicing the tree cleanly in half before it could reach me. Then, I soared back into the air, eager to end this fight sooner rather than later. Unfortunately, I was about to run low on energy and I needed to absorb that light ball before I had nothing left in me. Well, something big would also be helpful to me. At that moment, that big something came into reality as another tree burst from the ground. But it wasn¡¯t just any normal tree. Only a second seemed to have passed once I noticed it but the tree had already stretched above the buildings and even further than that, utterly dwarfing me. Filled with sharp, small, woody spikes across its body and decorated with¡­human skulls on some of those spikes¡ªwhat kind of tree was this!? This was going way beyond what I thought was in nature! ¡°Sandbox Tree!¡± ¡°I noticed¡­¡±, said Rosalina, approaching the front of the massive tree. ¡°that you haven¡¯t felt the pain of any of my attacks¡­right?¡± ¡°I could say the same for you,¡± I responded. ¡°But I haven¡¯t given you a clean punch to the face yet so who knows! Only thing I¡¯ve seen hurt you was a spray of herbicide.¡± ¡°And it makes me so glad that you didn¡¯t bring it with you! Maybe you will make a good father to my Sunflower¡­I only picked you because you¡¯re the same as me but¡­it seems you have some good qualities as a man¡­husband too. A husband shouldn¡¯t hurt his wife and you¡¯ve demonstrated that quality perfectly. Sunshine would be proud of you!¡± Now that I think about it¡­why didn¡¯t I bring the herbicide with me? I guess with how fast I got to the arena, Elias would still be running those fifteen minutes. Though, it felt like there was another thing clouding my decision¡ªlike my body forced me to not go after it. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, once I transform yo-¡± I shot her face, interrupting her babbling. Actually¡­I didn¡¯t shoot her face! I know my fingers were aimed right at her, and yet it was as if they had moved the very moment I shot. What¡¯s going on with my bo- An attack pierced through my chest. Then another shaved off the side of my head. The tree had fired its spikes at me! ¡°You won¡¯t get to eat those syrup¡­sandwiches with your daughter once I¡¯m finished with you!¡± Huh? How the hell does she know about that!? Before I could figure out the answer to that question, the Sandbox Tree unleashed a torrent of spikes, tearing through the air with murderous intent. My body moved on instinct, hardening my fists as I threw punch after punch and shattered spike after spike in a desperate storm of blows. My fists blurred, the mysterious beating in my chest pounding with each attack while the energy on my feet burned brighter. With each spike I broke, another one just stabbed through my ooze. However, I did not give up! My eyes glowed a deep emerald as I echoed with all my might¡­ ¡°Fatherly¡­Gatling!¡± My elbows ignited with raw radioactive energy, boosting the speed of my arms. Boosting the speed of my punches. Boosting everything within me! Aura surged around my hands, releasing an onslaught of colossal energy fists that outsized the spikes and stormed through the Sandbox Tree, riddling it with holes. I let out another reverberant roar as my final energy punch flew through the air and slammed into the Plant Zomb-Wait¡­What!? The attack landed on her body. I was sure of it. Sure, the punch I sent out blocked my view of it but I know I felt it hit. What the hell did she do!? No¡­It was more like what the hell did I do? Did I throw a soft punch? ¡°What kind of¡­weak attack was that?¡± Rosalina emerged from the dust. My new technique had damaged everything around us but her. And yet, I only intended to push her back. ¡°I felt the power¡­of every other attack when it destroyed my tree. So why was that last punch so¡­half-baked!?¡± Her ooze curled into a smile. ¡°Are you scared of hurting me?¡± Oh God¡­can zombies not attack other zombies? But that doesn¡¯t make any sense! I remember that Type Two Dante had was able to do damage to my neck. Plus, this Plant Girl has been successfully attacking me ever since I met her¡­ So what made Rosalina so damn different!? There were holes all over my body and all the energy I had was finally gone. But I still had one trick up my sleeve. The Fatherly Beam that had blasted the arena earlier should finally be taking effect now¡­ And, as if on cue, Rosalina began to scream. Chapter 25: Did She Just Summon a Dragon!? Rosalina¡¯s scream pierced through the chaos, reverberating through the shattered buildings like a war cry. She clenched her body fiercely as her leaf spiraled out of control, flinging her through the air until she crashed on the roof I was standing on. Due to the force of my new technique, I had unintentionally pushed my body backwards and landed on the same building. We both struggled to stay on our feet. Rosalina¡¯s oozy form shriveled, her vine dress coiling tightly to hold her body together. Meanwhile, the holes in my bones made me wobble until I finally collapsed, unable to stand any longer. ¡°Why is this¡­happening to me!?¡± she shrieked, clawing her way to the edge. ¡°What did you do? Is this that damn¡­herbicide!?¡± I¡¯m sure what I did granted her a similar feeling to the effects of the herbicide, however I¡¯d say it was a little different. There was something about the energies I had absorbed throughout the weeks I had been a zombie that gradually caught my attention the more I used and released them. Two different kinds of energy were present in this post-apocalyptic world and they were Nuclear Energy and Radioactive energy. Nuclear energy was a lot more explosive and destructive than radioactive energy, every impact resulting in some form of explosion. Absorbing Dante¡¯s forcefields, Kofi¡¯s electricity, and Jesus'' sword detonations allowed me to use this. Then, there was radioactive energy which I found to be a lot easier to locate as zombies and radioactive animals were filled with them. While they also exploded on impact, they had another aspect to them I found useful for this battle. Poisoning¡ªMore specifically, radiation poisoning. And as Rosalina just found out, humans weren¡¯t the only living things that could be killed by it. ¡°The¡­arena¡­I have to go,¡± she said weakly, taking a freaky looking seed out of her dress as the vines pulled her onto the ledge. ¡°Rosalina, you¡¯re not going anywhere!¡± I shouted, crawling towards her. Unfortunately, I couldn¡¯t crawl fast enough, forced to watch the plant zombie throw itself off the roof. I had no idea what she was trying to do, but I knew Rosalina couldn¡¯t use any plant in the ground that hadn¡¯t sprouted to attack me anymore. I could see an enormous amount of radioactive energy from under Barclays Center and that same energy streaked under the concrete of most of the city. It was what kept the carnivorous plants alive and dangerous. Her vines and trees had also spawned from there as well. That red, thorny seed was a mystery to me but I was sure that she had nothing left in her arsena- ¡°Dragon¡¯s Blood!¡± The scream shook everything in my vicinity as the buildings vibrated ferociously, bricks and other debris raining down on my back. Then, I heard the sound of¡­wings flapping, accompanied with a terrifying roar that was even louder than the earlier scream. To my surprise, a giant tree arose from below and shadowed over me. It was red¡ªan unsettling kind of red that instantly reminded me of blood. Like the pool of blood that oozed out of Johnny¡¯s head or the invisible guy¡¯s abdomen. Unlike other trees I¡¯ve seen, every single branch on this one extended horizontally.Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. That''s when I realized that the demonic tree was attached to the back of a creature. Its wings were made of wood, ominously beating against the sky and sending shockwaves through the air. The whole animal was made of wood and it stared at me with the same colorless eyes Rosalina had. Did this girl just create a dragon with that seed!? The tree on its back glowed a deep red as it opened its mouth. Seeing this, I scrambled toward the vines on the ledge that had torn free from her dress. But I was too late. The dragon fired a beam of dark crimson at the roof, blasting me across the city. I skidded across broken buildings before crashing into a random truck. I lay on the vehicle covered in what I realized was blood. I was a shadow of my former self¨Call of my limbs had been vaporized and I was nothing more than a head attached to a torso. The last thing I saw before the blood seeped into my eye holes was Rosalina¡¯s dragon, flying towards what I guessed was the arena. The dragon had its tail wrapped around Victoria who still had the tree in her mouth. Did I¡­lose? This question repeatedly wracked my mind as I sunk into the pool of red. The dragon didn''t even come back to finish the damn job. Maybe I did lo¡­No! The thick blood seeped into my mouth and then, I felt it¨Can intense surge of power coursing through me, beastly and electrifying, as it spread through every fiber of my being. It was as though my body were waking from a long coma, each limb I had lost regrowing, larger and stronger than before. Without another thought, I launched myself into the sky, rocketing towards the roaring dragon with my hardened fist aimed for the monster¡¯s head. Its thunderous bellow split the air, but I held firm, my body enduring the shockwave as my strike connected with its chin, sending the beast reeling. I hovered in the air and anticipated the dragon¡¯s next move. That¡¯s when I realized that there was something different about my body. I had thought that my rocket feet technique had shot me through the sky, but my body had flown in the air using a completely different ability. There were now wings on my body, jagged and wide like the dragon. Drinking that thing¡¯s blood must have given me this ability, and now it was time to see who could use our wings better. The dragon charged at me, and I charged as well. Its skull collided with my hands, and my fingers punctured its dense wood. The beast attempted to tackle me out the way, shooting bullets of blood from the unnatural tree on its back, however I kept my body firm and released energy vines from my hands to envelop its face. Then, I threw the big sunnava bitch upwards and lodged my foot into its chest. It screamed in what sounded like pain. ¡°You¡­stupid, dumb lizard!¡± The voice came from Rosalina, sprawled out on the tree. ¡°You¡¯re not supposed to destroy him! Just capture-¡± The dragon bellowed, making the plant girl jump in shock. I guess she didn¡¯t have as much control over the monster as I thought she did. That was perfect for me. It meant I was only fighting something intellectually comparable to some random radioactive beast and not one controlled by a former human. The flying piece of wood began to charge what I assumed to be another Blood Beam at me. In return, I opened my mouth and charged my own special attack. A couple more seconds passed and, after ignoring Rosalina¡¯s pleas to stop, we both fired. Our beams surged with a competitive spirit, lighting up the space between us with a bright emerald and red. It was a fiery struggle, each blast fighting to see which would disperse first. Rosalina¡¯s voice barely registered over the deafening sound of the collision and judging from the increasing weight, we were about to reach a climactic conclu- ¡°AIDs!¡± A familiar voice¡­A familiar word boomed across the battlefield and in that same second, the dragon¡¯s body bent, the wood slowly cracking. It was Jason. And the psycho entered the battle with a drop kick. Chapter 26: Did He Just Steal My Kill!? The reason I left my daughter behind to train with that horse-headed weirdo and went on this journey was to find Jason¡­and kill him. I was supposed to find him, and yet here he was, coming straight to my location to drop kick a goddamn dragon! It must¡¯ve been that beacon Elias created that caught that maniac¡¯s attention. I was warned one of the Radius might come and see what was going on, but I thought I¡¯d have more time¡­or someone else would come! I guess there was some fortune to be made off of this unexpected reunion. It fast forwards the ¡°Kill Jason¡± plan and the invisible guy did say Jason was itching to find me and Sunshine. You¡¯d think his eyes would be all on me, however he looked to be more concerned with all the sick ways he could carve up the dragon¡¯s wood with his stained machete. The dragon spun wildly, trying to fling Jason off its back, but the masked man stabbed its back with his machete and clung on to it without a trace of worry. With a swift motion, he hurled the beast forward, simultaneously carving a deep gash across its back as he did so. In response, the dragon fired a beam of crimson, and Jason reflected it, the machete redirecting part of the attack skywards while the other part zoomed towards me. I flew up, dodging the attack, and bolted for the dragon. Jason finally acknowledged my existence and prevented me from landing a hit, striking me with a hard uppercut to the jaw, sending me spinning. As I clenched my jaw in pain, I watched Jason continue his battle with the beast. He landed blow after blow while the dragon released a barrage of blood bullets from its glowing tree, completely forgetting I was this close to obliterating it. Sure, I could just let Jason do all the work for me as he clearly seemed to be much more suited for this fight than me, but¡­there was a fire in my chest that kept growing the longer I stayed still. After everything this man has done, how could I sit back and watch him ignore me? What kind of father would I be if I watched this man scar my daughter¡¯s face and not do a damn thing about it!? ¡°Hey, Jason!¡± I shouted, driving my head into his skull. ¡°Don¡¯t you dare forget about me! You¡¯re mines to ki-¡± Jason grabbed my skull and slammed my face down on the dragon¡¯s back, shattering my chance to actually look threatening. I tried to stand back up, but he kicked my chest, sending me flying off the dragon. I activated my Rocket Feet and darted towards the two, but another Blood Beam surged forward like an unrelenting spear. I brought my hands up just in time as my palms met the overwhelming power of the dragon¡¯s special blast. It forced me backwards, nearly erasing my fingers, however I remained sturdy and went full throttle with my rockets. As I was fighting my body¡¯s desire to be blown apart by the beam, I noticed something about the attack. It was something I could absorb! I began to take in all the energy I could, lowering my mouth and feeding to speed up the absorption. The beam grew weaker and then became smaller, till it eventually dissipated. Once I felt the energy fill my bones, I started to charge my Fatherly Beam attack. While charging it up was the easy part, the hard part would be finding an opportunity to use it considering the two fighters were moving in the air chaotically. The dragon clawed at Jason, directing him to the right. Jason grabbed onto its wings and stomped down on the monster¡¯s back, driving him downwards¡ªevery direction was fair game to these freaks. There was no more room to fail. I had to time this perfectly¡­ Weeds emerged from my feet. One second! From the bits of information that dripped into my mind after absorbing Rosalina¡¯s plants, I understood how some of these plants worked. The plants on my feet were stinkweeds, a type of weed that produced a smelly gas powerful enough to blast my body forward. Two seconds! I leaned backward with the orb ready in my hands, eyes locked onto the roaring dragon above me. Then, gas erupted from the weeds, blasting me upwards till I reached the side of the dragon¡¯s head. One second! ¡°Fatherly Beam!¡± The blast scorched the wooden head to dust, and the dragon¡¯s limp body descended back to the¡­What the hell!? To my dismay, the dragon¡¯s head regenerated in only a few seconds, splinters and bark twisting back into a jagged, monstrous form. Its hollow eyes were now locked onto me. It flew towards me, baring its wooden claws as I crossed my arms and prepared to defend. ¡°Sliced to Bits!¡± The dragon halted mid-flight, its body trembling as cracks began to form on its body. Only another second passed before the beast shattered like glass, the pieces falling apart like splintered timber. I froze, staring at Jason¡¯s straightened head while I tried to wrap my head around what just happened. That confusion only broke when I heard the sound of Rosalina¡¯s scream. ¡°No! Help my baby! My baby¡¯s falling!¡± The little girl and the Plant Woman were plummeting at an alarming rate. Without hesitation, I rocketed towards the kid¡¯s grassy body. Then, I fired some energy vines and luckily, I was able to catch her before she could meet a messy end. But as I steadied her, a sudden burning sensation flared up inside me¡ªthe same searing intensity that had pushed me to strike at Jason earlier. It ignited the moment I caught sight of Rosalina falling past me. Instinctively, I whipped my other hand toward her, releasing another burst of energy vines. ¡°Bleed Out!¡± Something was off with me. I felt¡­weaker. The energy on my feet disappeared, and gravity took me hostage along with the girl and Rosalina. That¡¯s when I realized that¡­green liquid was spilling out of my body from holes I didn¡¯t know were there until now. No! They weren¡¯t always there¡­they just showed up now! This must¡¯ve been Jason¡¯s doing! I didn¡¯t have enough time to think of a counterattack before Jason appeared in front of me and punched me all the way back to the arena¡ªRosalina and the girl still attached to my A swarm of leaves burst out of my back right before we crashed. The impact didn¡¯t hurt at all compared to all the times Jason decked me in the face so I quickly snapped out of my confusion and surveyed my surroundings. Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. Barclays Center was nothing like I remembered it to be. The court was a grassy terrain¡ªmy radioactive attack giving it a dry, brown appearance. The hoops had been brought down by unnaturally curled sunflowers, and the seats¡­poking out the seats were¡­marijuana!? So there really was weed in here! And there was a man by the seats, shakily pointing the knife at me¡­ ¡°Elias!¡± I shouted. ¡°It¡¯s me!¡± ¡°Oh shit! Zombie man!¡±, he exclaimed, hopping over the barricade. ¡°I thought that crazy bitch found me, but I see you already beat her a-¡± ¡°You piece of shit!¡± I interrupted, trying to crawl my way over to him. ¡°You said you¡¯d delay the signal if I didn¡¯t stop you!¡± He approached me with a raised eyebrow. ¡°The hell are you talking about!? I did delay it¡ªlike twenty-one minutes ago.¡± Twenty-one minutes!? Geez, did that whole fight really go for that long? ¡°Then tell me why one of the Radius just attacked me out of nowhere and tried to end me!¡± ¡°Radius¡­? You mean those guys with the powers and shit?¡± He took off his bag, zipped it open, and pulled out a black trash bag. ¡°I don¡¯t really know why¡­maybe they were already nearby and just saw the beacon from the ground.¡± Well¡­that did make sense. Jesus did say Jason would¡¯ve been on his way to Hallowsville. Though, I still don¡¯t know why he¡¯d go through all the trouble for some Halloween town. ¡°Alright, but how¡¯d you get here so fast with all those killer plants in the city?¡± I asked. ¡°You found a working car?¡± ¡°Yeah, I did. And those plants were there for a couple minutes till they just started shriveling up.¡± He put his bag back on and said, ¡°But who cares about that right now? There¡¯s a whole arena filled with weed and I¡¯m gonna grab all this shit.¡± Elias didn¡¯t seem to care about my body¡¯s sorry state. Then again, the guy was a slave owner. He¡¯s probably given worse injuries. ¡°Where¡¯re Rosey¡¯s daughter and the Type Two?¡± I asked, worried. ¡°I crashed in here with them but I¡¯m not sure if they-¡± ¡°They¡¯re behind you, under some bright ass leaves. Definitely both dead,¡± Elias said, bluntly. ¡°Stop trying to brag about your win. We got more important things to worry about. C¡¯mon, if you help me I¡¯ll let you take some of the stash. How about 90/10?¡± Ah, so that¡¯s what those leaves did. That¡¯s good¡­Wait a minute! 90/10? That¡¯s a horrible deal! ¡°Listen, we don¡¯t have time to be collecting some damn weed now¡± My voice raised. ¡°I don''t know when, but a masked freak is gonna barge in here at any moment and believe me when I say you don¡¯t wanna get on his murderous side. If you care at all about your life, then I suggest you ru-¡± Elias chuckled mockingly. ¡°You think I¡¯m stupid or something? You trying to cop all this shit for yourself, right? I¡¯ve been dealing with freaks like you my whole life and I know how greedy you shiteaters can get. You¡¯re not tricking me!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be so stupid, Elias! You¡¯re a slave owner so I don¡¯t care whether you live or die, but I also don¡¯t wanna be blamed for your death when that Radius guy comes in and kills you. So just get the hell-¡± My warning was shattered by a kick to my skull. ¡°I know you¡¯re a zombie so a brain isn¡¯t something that you have but I already told you¡­¡± He sneered. ¡°I¡¯m not going anywh-¡± ¡°Lethal Injection.¡± My jaw dropped, shocked at how Jason came in here without a hint of sound. Elias¡¯ smile faded and he immediately turned to see the psycho shadowing over him¨Ccrimson eyes locked on both of us. ¡°What are you¡­a resource adventurer? Someone from the Underground?¡± he questioned, taking out a status board from his pocket. ¡°If you¡¯re here for that signal, I already took the SB for myself so you can leave now.¡± ¡°Asphyxiation,¡± Jason continued. ¡°Ashpyxi-what now? You one of those mentally deficient whackjobs?¡± he insulted. ¡°I already said I got the damn status-¡± ¡°Type Two Diabetes.¡± ¡°Huh!?¡± yelled Elias. ¡°Who the hell told you about my condition? That is a very sensitive topic for m-¡± Jason smacked Elias out of the way, sending him flying to the left. Assuming I would be next, I prepared for another blow to my face, but he surprisingly left me alone. Instead he walked past me and from what I could see¡­he stopped next to Rosey¡¯s daughter¨Cthe tree no longer in her mouth. ¡°Jason, stop!¡± I screamed, watching him pick up the girl by her head and examine her hair. ¡°Your target is me, remember!? She has nothing to do with me. Leave her alone.¡± Rosalina didn¡¯t say a word, only watching me plead with Jason to stop what he was about to do. ¡°Wh¨CWh-What¡¯s happening to me?¡± the girl asked, finally waking up from unconsciousness. ¡°Who are you? Let go of me!¡± Jason ignored her cries and approached me, dangling the child above my head. I could tell he was smiling under that mask. ¡°What the fuck is wrong with you!? Why do you people continue to torment me? Why can¡¯t you just leave us alone and let me and my daughter live our lives!? How can someone like you hurt all these kids in front of me and continue to live your life like nothing ever happened!?¡± Everything in my undead soul demanded me to move. Demanded me to get the hell up and obliterate this piece of shit¡­And yet I couldn¡¯t! Whatever his power was¡­it completely outclassed me. ¡°I want my¡­mo¡­¡± ¡°Let her go! Let her go! Let her-¡± ¡°Decapitation.¡± The girl¡¯s body plopped to the grass. Her head remained in Jason¡¯s hand. If something like this could happen to her¡­then how could I, by myself, prevent Sunshine from meeting the same fate¡­? ¡°Jaaaasoooon!¡± ¡°Grassyland!¡± At that moment, spikes of brittle grass rose from under Jason¡¯s feet and slammed into his torso, pushing him all the way the the arena¡¯s ceiling with Victoria¡¯s head still in his grasp. Rosalina¡¯s oozy body slithered toward me, and morphed back into her regular body once she reached my bleeding body. ¡°You need to absorb me¡­now,¡± she demanded, grabbing my jaw. ¡°Wha-¡± ¡°You want to save my Sunflower, don¡¯t you!? Then hurry up and absorb me. I know you can¡¯t move your arms right now¡­but I saw you absorb my dragon¡¯s attack with your mouth which means you can do the same with my body.¡± ¡°Rosalina¡­she¡¯s dea-¡± ¡°I know,¡± she said, ooze-like tears rolling off her cheeks. It was the first time her eyes actually showed some emotion. ¡°She¡¯s dead right now. But the moment you absorb me, you¡¯ll be able to use¡­all of my abilities. You can revive her once that happens. She won¡¯t be human anymore but¡­she¡¯ll be alive. Sunflower will keep her memories.¡± ¡°How do I know I can trust you?¡± I made a fist. ¡°You said you were gonna transform me earlier, and I don¡¯t know what you¡¯ll do once-¡± ¡°That herbicide¡­or whatever seeped through the arena and killed my plants¡­it¡¯s also killing me too. My ¡®heart¡¯ was¡­within there. Even if I did betray you here, I wouldn¡¯t live long enough for it to matter. So hurry up and devour me before my grass is destroyed!¡± ¡°O-Ok!¡± She opened my mouth and began to enter. ¡°And remember, once you¡¯ve absorbed me¡­you only have a minute before her plant body can be reattached. Ok? One minute!¡± I began to devour her the best I could, absorbing her ooze, her vine dress, her essence, her feelings and¡­her memories. Finally, I saw something. Many things. It struck my mind like a bolt of lightning. There were lots of things. Chapter 27: Ill Tell Her Everything! Thats a Promise! I was myself again¡ªnot a zombie but who I originally was¡­.a human. As I slowly surveyed my surroundings, I realized that the only thing filling my vision was white. Every single direction I could possibly look in contained no trace of a post-apocalyptic world made by humans. I¡¯d say I was standing on the ground, but it felt more like I was hovering in the air. I caressed my bald head in confusion as I dug through the pockets of my thick, brown jacket. There was a baby picture I had of Sunshine before those zombies tore me apart. Maybe it was still there. However, instead of my daughter, it was a picture of¡­someone else. A mother smiling tiredly while she held a little girl close to her chest in front of a pot with flowers¡ªdirt splattered on their faces. Suddenly, my vision became hazy, the photo swirling like a whirlpool. It was sucking me in¡­absorbing me. ***** ¡°Nice and slow, mi alma,¡± a woman said, steadying the arm of a child who was sprinkling water on a pot of sunflowers. ¡°You give our babies too much water, and they¡¯ll drown in it.¡± ¡°So, the sunflowers are weak?¡± the kid asked, glancing up at the woman. ¡°Of course they are,¡± she answered. ¡°There are so many things in the world that could break these flowers¡ªfragile little things. That¡¯s why they need someone like us to take care of them and to¡­protect them.¡± ¡°Like a mom?¡± ¡°No, like two mommies,¡± she said with a smile. ¡°But¡­sometimes a mother needs a father to protect her too.¡± She turned to me. ¡°Isn''t that right, Jerome?¡± My eyes widened a bit as I took a few steps forward. ¡°How do you know my name, Rosalina? Is it because I just absorbed you?¡± ¡°I guess so,¡± she replied, setting the sprinkler down on a short stool next to her. ¡°It¡¯s still early so wanna have some breakfast?¡± The girl nodded and their eyes turned to me, waiting for me to answer. I was pretty confused about what they wanted me to say. There wasn¡¯t anything for us to eat in the room. In fact, there wasn¡¯t anything in here, aside from us and the flower set up they had. The room didn¡¯t have any doors or any kind of exit. ¡°If you¡¯re confused about how we¡¯ll eat here¡­don¡¯t you know we¡¯re in the state between absorption?¡± To my surprise, she twirled her finger around and a table popped out of nowhere in front of me. ¡°All you have to do is think it, and whatever¡¯s in your imagination will appear in front of you.¡± ¡°Wait¡­so this is one of those near death experience things?¡± I felt the wood of the table. ¡°Where you hallucinate stuff before you die?¡± ¡°Yeah, I think.¡± Rosalina held the kid¡¯s hand and walked to the table, chairs appearing with each step. ¡°I think I¡¯ve experienced this another time, but I was guided by you instead.¡± ¡°Huh? Does that mean I¡¯m¡­dead!?¡± I shouted, forming a fist. ¡°I knew it! I shouldn¡¯t have tru-¡± ¡°You¡¯re not dead!¡± she cut off, pursing her lips. ¡°I know that for a fact you aren¡¯t dead. And please¡­enough questions about all the outside stuff. That¡¯s not important to me right now. This is the last time I¡¯ll be able to be¡­myself again, and the last I¡¯ll ever see Sunflower¡¯s face. Immerse yourself in me, and let me live my life one more time.¡± I softened my face, hesitating to answer. Rosalina smiled at me. ¡°It¡¯s the least you can do considering you killed me, after all.¡± After that last sentence, I finally gave in with an ¡°Ok.¡± No more words for now. Just absorb¡­ They were a happy family of two, chowing down on the only breakfast they could afford¡ªbowls of Froot Loops cereal. A simple meal that would only last five minutes, and yet they treated it like it was the best food in the world. And of course they did. Aside from ramen, it was the only meal they were confident they could have daily. But Rosalina¡¯s daughter loved every bit of it. Six years old and already so grateful. Maybe one day, if she worked hard enough, she¡¯d be able to get her daughter those clothes she¡¯d always wanted. Even without those special clothes or good meals, as long as they had their flowers, they were happy. However, a family wasn''t complete without a father. At least, that''s what Rosalina thought. ¡°When is Dad coming home, Mom?¡± ¡°I already told you, Sunflower. At the end of the month¨Cevery month. As he¡­always does.¡± As she predicted, Dad would come back, and he came in with a bang. A bang louder than any gunshot that could pierce through her head, and the bang only came from the door being knocked down. Yet, that bang was not louder than the man¡¯s boots pounding on the floor toward them, and the punch to Rosalina¡¯s face following that. A woman could only pay half of what she owed to a pimp and take the rest for herself before someone found out. Unluckily for her, that day would be today, resulting in a swift beat down of almost everything that she was in that moment. Not even the screams of his daughter stopped him from taking everything that he was owed¡ªTV, clothes, anything that could be sold. The flowers weren¡¯t as fortunate, the father stomping on them as a form of ¡°deserved punishment.¡± I didn¡¯t do anything to help¡­No, it was more like I wasn¡¯t allowed to help. It was as if I was watching an episode of a show, except I was also in it. Finally, the horror stopped, and the man seemed satisfied with what he¡¯d achieved. However, that satisfaction was only with Rosalina. According to him, the child still needed to pay for her mother¡¯s mistakes. I didn¡¯t know what he meant by that specifically. Obviously, Rosalina did as she immediately drove a fork into the man¡¯s eye. The pimp shrieked in agony, kicking her in the belly. He probably would¡¯ve killed her if it wasn¡¯t for the sudden miracle appearing to save her. A miracle in the form of a shockwave that nearly tore the house apart and sent everyone tumbling to the ground. It was the day the nuke had hit New York. To most, it was the worst day of their lives. To Rosalina¡­it was the best thing that could possibly happen. So, she ran. Her daughter ran. They both ran as fast as they could. Bunkers or any other hideouts. Towns so far away from the bomb¡¯s impact that they were completely unaffected by it. Anywhere was fine as long as they were together. That was the mindset they had for years until the same man greeted them, accompanied by a group. Despite missing an eye, he was now a well-established leader of the Slavelands, respected by most and feared by even more. And he just found a new addition to the workforce. After all, you can¡¯t just run away from a stubborn pimp for years and not face the consequences, and Rosalina needed to repay her debt. The mom could have run away like she did years ago, but she didn¡¯t. Instead, she went through with it, fearing her daughter would face the same brutality she was forced to receive. With that decision made, the Slavelands made quick use of her. The mines? Worked in. Zombies? Killed. The houses? Cleaned. The men? Satisfied. When the days were over, she could finally go back home and spend time with her Sunflower, who waited all day in the Big House for her. If Rosalina worked hard enough, the pimp would allow the two to look after all the flowers in the area. Every evening they would do this when the sun was still setting, hours passing before they realized it was the dead of night. It was on one of those nights where Sunflower would start to¡­change. ¡°Mom¡­.do you regret being my mom?¡± she asked, gripping the pot. ¡°Sunflower, why would you ask me something like that?¡± Rosalina placed a hand on the girl¡¯s head. ¡°Do you really think I''d say yes to that question?¡± ¡°But¡­everything that''s happened to us these past couple of years wouldn''t have happened if I wasn''t born. You wouldn''t have had to steal so much money to buy me stuff. My da-that man would''ve never come to our house and hurt you. We wouldn''t be stuck working here every single day if I had never been b-¡± Rosalina slapped her, shattering the assertion her kid was about to make. ¡°I don''t wanna hear you speak like that ever again, understand?¡± ¡°But you know it¡¯s true¡­¡± she muttered, caressing her cheek. ¡°We¡¯ve been here for six years now and nothing has changed. You promised we would find some way out of here, but all we¡¯ve been doing is playing with some stupid, fucking flowers.¡±Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. ¡°Hey! Where¡¯d you hear that word from!?¡± ¡°Everyone here says it¡­who cares if I say it too? All the other kids say it too.¡± Rosalina paused for a while, taking in Sunflower¡¯s words, her struggle. Then, she said, ¡°Sunflower, do you remember what I told you before everything changed? How sunflowers were weak and needed people to take care of them¡­or else they¡¯d die?¡± ¡°Um, no,¡± she responded, furrowing her brows. ¡°Yeah, I thought so. You were only six. But I¡¯d like to take back that statement.¡± She nestled her daughter in her arms. ¡°Sunflowers are strong. You give them enough time to grow, and they¡¯ll withstand any force that could be thrown at them. Wind, rain¡­getting stomped down¡ªthey can take on any of that. Why do you think I gave you that name? It¡¯s because I know you¡¯re going to be the strongest girl I know.¡± ¡°You really mean that?¡± Sunflower asked with a faint smile. ¡°Of course I do!¡± She turned to me. ¡°Jerome, tell her she¡¯s the strongest girl in the world!¡± I flinched, surprised she actually acknowledged my presence again. ¡°Well, she¡¯s not stronger than my Sunshine, that¡¯s for sure. But, if I had a list, then she¡¯d be number two.¡± She chuckled. ¡°You hear that, mi alma? You¡¯re a strong girl. You don¡¯t need to do anything drastic to try and prove yourself to me or anyone here. So just wait, ok?¡± Unfortunately, Sunflower didn¡¯t want to wait any longer. The pain she faced in this hellhole was too much for her to handle. The thought that she¡¯d have to spend another day here wasn¡¯t one she wanted in her head. So, she did it. Somehow, she got access to a gun. Not only was she, for the most part, an obedient house worker, she was also only twelve. Who the hell would expect her to shoot three of the masters? Unfortunately for her, there was one man who did¡ªMaster Corleone. The pimp. Her father. He alone stopped her with a quick strike to the jaw, stopping her from doing anything else. However, he didn¡¯t kill her. According to him, the girl had ¡°serious potential.¡± She still needed to be punished though, and that¡¯s exactly what he intended to do. That was when Rosalina charged into the house and shielded her daughter from any more pain. Not a single word spilled from her mouth¡ªher eyes was all Corleone needed to see to understand what Rosalima wanted out of this defiance. And so, the daughter was safe, but in exchange for her safety, Rosalina would need to be sacrificed. To take the full brunt of what Sunflower was gonna receive. They did many things to her. I had my eyes closed for most of it so I couldn¡¯t remember or describe what they specifically did. I just heard a lot of laughing and a lot of screaming. It felt like months of this went by¡­I wasn¡¯t really sure. Standing in the shed that whole time was like a nightmare. Then, for the first time since I¡¯ve entered Rosalina¡¯s world, they talked to me. As in, someone from her past. I opened my eyes and realized¡­Elias was speaking to me. ¡°You deaf or what?¡± he asked, waving a belt at me. ¡°You want a go at her too, right?¡± I was about to say ¡°no¡± without any hesitation, but Rosalina stopped me. ¡°Say yes,¡± she muttered. ¡°Why?¡±, I asked, keeping my eyes off her. ¡°Because¡­there was someone else in the shed with these guys. A black man. I don¡¯t remember what he looked like so you¡¯ll have to do it.¡± ¡°No,¡± I said bluntly. ¡°Do it,¡± she repeated. ¡°I said no.¡± ¡°You¡¯re gonna ruin everything! Just hurry up and do it already!¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°I said do it!¡± Suddenly, the world around me began to break like glass as I fell into a dark void. After a couple seconds of falling, everything reformed just as quickly as it shattered. I was still in the shed, though the men were no longer there. Instead, it was Sunflower, standing in front of her mother. ¡°Mom¡­what did those assholes do to you!¡±, she shouted, holding back tears. ¡°Sunflower¡­did you get taller?¡± She pulled on her chains but they remained intact. ¡°I haven¡¯t seen you¡­in so long.¡± ¡°It''s been months. I think I turned thirteen a couple weeks ago.¡± ¡°Ah, that¡¯s nice. I¡¯m sorry I missed your birthday¡­¡± Sunflower took out a key from her pocket and started to free Rosalina. ¡°Don¡¯t apologize to me. I fucked up. I let my emotions get the better of me and I got you stuck in here! I-I¡¯m sor-¡± ¡°No¡­I¡¯m sorry. I don¡¯t know what I was thinking¡­dragging you into this for years. I¡¯m a horrible mother.¡± ¡°No! I didn¡¯t mean what I said before, ok? I loved taking care of the flowers with you¨Cthey¡¯re not stupid. You¡¯re the best mom I could¡¯ve ever had, ok? I love you, mom, ok!?¡± She hugged Rosalina¡¯s bloody body, tears spilling out. ¡°I love you, ok? I never stopp-.¡± The shed¡¯s wall burst open, a horde of zombies sauntering inside. ¡°Sunflower, what happened out there?¡± ¡°A bunch of the workers came together and made a whole bunch of noise. A lot of zombies heard it and now they¡¯re destroying the whole place,¡± she said, hoisting her mother up. ¡°I don¡¯t know what happened to Corleone, but I hope those zombies ate the shit out of him.¡± ¡°But, how are you gonna get out of here? They¡¯re blocking the exit and they¡¯re coming this way!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, mom. I stole a few guns just in case. I¡¯ll kill all those-¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be an idiot! A few guns aren''t gonna save us. I¡¯ll buy some time, mi alma.¡± ¡®Wait, what do you mean by that?¡± said Sunflower, aiming the gun at the undead group. ¡°Mom, don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re gonna-¡± Rosalina screamed at the top of her lungs, directing the attention of the zombies solely to her. ¡°Mom, stop! I can¡¯t let you sacrifice your life for me again! I said I can handle-¡± Shockingly, a swarm of vines erupted from the ground and wrapped around Sunflower¡¯s torso. Then, a few more spawned and ripped a hole through the back of the shed and carried her out, ignoring her pleas for her mother to stop. My eyes widened once I realized what this meant. Rosalina was a Radius. I guess she just didn¡¯t know it. Although, there wasn¡¯t another vine that appeared to save her. She was left to sit there as the zombies put an end to her life, just like they did me. I closed my eyes, taking a deep breath to absorb it all. I opened them after a while and saw that I was in another place. It was like the white space from the beginning, except now it was all pitch black. I wasn¡¯t hovering either. I was standing. ¡°How¡¯d you deal with it?¡± My ears twitched as I looked up to see where the familiar raspy voice came from. In front of me was Rosalina, now in her Type Two Radion form. ¡°Deal with what?¡± I asked. ¡°Your past?¡± ¡°No, becoming a zombie. Being a zombie. Being with your daughter as a zombie.¡± I smiled softly. ¡°It was easy. As long as she was by my side, I could handle not being a human anymore. Even if that meant I couldn¡¯t eat, sleep, or have my¡­¡± I looked down and sighed. ¡°My down there¡­¡± ¡°I wish I were like you during my first years.¡± She summoned vines from the nothingness and created a person with them. It was¡­Rosey!? ¡°What¡¯s she doing here!?¡± ¡°I had to make a plant clone of myself to watch over her after I¡­died. But I didn¡¯t get the skin or hair color right. And I guess I made her a bit too crazy. No wonder Sunflower ran away from me and ended up in Brooklyn.¡± I was already sure Rosey wasn¡¯t her true mother after the experience I just had, but this confirms it. ¡°I¡¯m a coward,¡± she continued. ¡°Of course you¡¯re not!¡± I exclaimed, approaching her. ¡°I wish I could create clones to look after Sunshine after I left her to train last week. She¡¯s alone with some really weird guy who only wears tighty-whities! Can you believe that? Sunshine¡¯s lucky I¡¯m such a chill father though.¡± ¡°You want your daughter to¡­fight?¡± She tilted her head in confusion. ¡°Of course I don¡¯t! What kind of father would I be if I allowed my baby girl to fight dangerous monsters and bloodthirsty serial killers during the apocalypse?¡± ¡°Yeah¡­I agr-¡± ¡°But at the same time, what kind of father would I be if I saw all the dangerous shit this world had to offer and not teach my daughter how to fight? A pretty stupid father if you ask me,¡± I said, laughing right after. She paused for a moment and then sighed in relief. ¡°Yeah, I definitely was wrong about you. You really are a good dad.¡± I thanked her for the compliment and gripped her neck gently, my fingers sinking into the ooze. My human body cracked until it eventually shed like snake skin, revealing my zombie body underneath. ¡°I swear I¡¯m going to save your daughter. And then, I¡¯m going to save my daughter. She¡¯s got this dumb disease bringing her a lot of pain right now and I intend to find a cure. Even if everyone tells me there isn¡¯t one!¡± Rosalina smiled at the declaration. ¡°You know, those plants on the arena seats, I think they can help your daughter out¡­just make sure she doesn¡¯t smoke it.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m a strong advocate of the ¡®kids shouldn¡¯t do drugs¡¯ movement. She¡¯s gonna chew every last bit of that stuff.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good. And this might not be that helpful but¡­I heard from one of the masters a couple years ago that there¡¯s¡­someone or something that knows about this disease. Possibly an actual cure for it. Heard something about¡­Philadelphia I think.¡± ¡°Philadelphia?¡± My eyes brightened. ¡°I was wrong about you, Rosalina. You¡¯re a good person and a good mother!¡± ¡°I wish I could¡¯ve heard that from my Sunflower¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯ll tell her that you were.¡± Tears began to flow from her eyes. ¡°I wish I could tell her that none of what happened was her fault¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯ll tell her.¡± ¡°I wish that piece of shit Corleone would get what he deserves.¡± ¡°If me and him ever cross paths, I¡¯ll tell him and then kill him for you.¡± Her body slowly began to enter my palm as I said my final promise. ¡°Tell my Sunflower¡­how much I love her.¡± ¡°I will.¡± Chapter 28: A Zombie vs a Monster Part 1 There were many promises I made to Rosalina before she disappeared before my eyes, and they were promises I intended to keep. It was a good thing the path to achieving that first one was directly above me, still restrained by the spiked, brittle grass. The energy in my body was itching to be released as I watched Jason struggle, like a radioactive beast in a cage. Everything in my body was screaming at me to kill him, but I had to hold that voice back. After all, I only had one minute to save Sunflower, and she mattered a lot more for now. Now that I¡¯d absorbed Rosalina, the task should¡¯ve been easy with this new form of mine. Vines were on the top of my head, reaching down to the middle of my back like dreadlocks. Grass was wrapped around my legs, shaped like baggy sweatpants, and the outline of a rose¡¯s head bloomed in the center of my chest like an emerald tattoo. I crouched my legs, flexing the ooze of my thighs, and jumped straight towards Jason, spawning a leaf blade aimed for the hand holding the girl¡¯s head. To my dismay, the dry crumbled to dust, the shockwave of my jump destroying Rosalina¡¯s final attack. Jason began to fall, stuffing Sunflower¡¯s head inside his white coat as he readied his machete. Our blades collided, and he tried to land a kick on my side but I smacked his leg away. A cluster of leaves flew out of my mouth and blinded him while I fell, conceding the first clash. With a swift punch, the masked man sent the leaves spiraling back in a whirlwind, barely a second after I fell. However, I had expected it. I released another bunch of leaves from my hands, more than what I fired before, and they were immediately caught in the whirlwind Jason created. Then, I sprouted stinkweeds on my feet and the gas blasted me upwards, giving me some view of Jason in the air. Somehow, the guy was able to fly just like me! No¡­not flying¨Che was standing on the air, or rather, his feet were planted on the radioactive energy flowing in the air. I remembered him doing that during the fight with the dragon, but I had no idea how he was. Maybe a Radius ability? I set that thought aside once I plummeted to a position where I was right behind Jason. I aimed my fingers and fired a bullet. ¡°Shot in the Chest!¡± My bullet disappeared along with a large portion of my chest. Without hesitation, I raised my hands and vines erupted my palms, surging forward as a convulsing mass of life. They crashed into Jason¡¯s body with the force of a tidal wave, thrusting him forward until he slammed against the arena¡¯s wall. Once I reached his body, I spawned a few more vines from my fingertips and slipped them through his restraints, searching for Sunflower¡¯s head.Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. I didn''t know the specifics of what Jason¡¯s Radius ability was, however I had an idea of what it allowed him to do. He uses a phrase that would be a way for someone or something to die, and it happens right after those words leave his mouth. So, as long as I kept these vines over his mouth then I should be fine. There was still one thing I was confused on though¡­ He could''ve easily defeated me had he just said something like ¡°Decapitation¡± or ¡°Sliced to Bits¡± like he did last time, so why didn''t he just do that before? Was he overconfident or did his power have limits? Answering those questions would have to wait as my vines finally made contact with the head. But I didn''t forcefully pull it out from Jason¡¯s coat. Instead, I absorbed it, her head liquifying into energy, pumping through my vines like blood till it entered my body. The moment the hole in my chest regenerated, Jason broke free of the bindings and caught me off guard with a blow to my jaw. I¡¯m sure the maniac expected me to go flying after a punch with that amount of power to it, but unfortunately for him I didn¡¯t move an inch. I simply stood my ground and watched him intently with hollow eyes. ¡°AI-¡± I grabbed his face, shoving it into the wall before he could use his ability. His muffled growls vibrated against the wall as I held him there, his hands clawing at mine in a futile attempt to break free. I couldn¡¯t let anybody stop me from what I needed to do, and no amount of struggling was gonna knock me down just yet! I opened my mouth, a rush of energy crawling towards my mouth. Then, with an explosive release, a beam unleashed out of me, striking Jason head-on. It propelled Jason like a rag doll out of the arena and into the city beyond, culminating in an explosion that eviscerated a couple buildings in the area. The arena trembled under the force of the blast, its walls groaning as dust and debris rained down around me. A blast like that wouldn¡¯t kill him. I was sure of it. This wasn¡¯t a battle of two strong fighters who wanted to compete to see who was the strongest. This was a battle between two stubborn guys who just wanted to beat the shit out of each other, no matter how much pain we had to take. Quickly, I shot another set of vines at Sunflower¡¯s body and began to absorb her. Before she died, Rosalina didn¡¯t tell me how exactly I could revive the girl, but the moment I gripped the mother¡¯s neck in our final conversation¡­I realized the answer was quite simple. Sunflower¡¯s body was turned into grass, and yet everything about it was also pure energy. It wasn¡¯t just pure energy though. It was Rosalina¡¯s energy, and she was radiating with it. Rosalina turned the kid into ooze using her own body to¡­immortalize her. No one could ever hurt her or kill her once she took on that form. She¡¯d be just like a plant¡­ I couldn¡¯t turn her back into what she once was, however I can keep her alive¡­keep her aware of her lost humanity. And the only way to do that was to absorb and release. Just like I did with all my other techniques. Absorb Sunflower, rebuild her inside of me, and release her as one, living body. I didn¡¯t know how long that would exactly take. I can¡¯t really distinguish between all the energies in my body. Though, I did know one thing for sure. The first and second step to fulfilling that promise I made¡­were now complete. Chapter 29: Is That Who I Think It Is!? ¡°Choked to Death.¡± Unexpectedly, my neck began to tighten immensely the moment I finished absorbing Sunflower¡¯s body. It¡¯s not like I could breathe in the first place, but it felt like two hands made of knives were clenching my neck. No, not two¡ªeven more than that. I dropped to my knees, pulling at the air around my neck to see what the hell was the problem. I didn¡¯t find anything there. It wasn¡¯t physical. I turned my head and, as I expected, Jason had used his ability once again. However, what I didn¡¯t expect was for him to bounce back from my attack so easily. Although, it clearly did do some damage as he was a bloody mess. Wait¡­ the blood staining his jacket wasn¡¯t his. It was green! Does that mean he tanked my beam like it was nothing!? Suddenly, a pack of radioactive dogs came flying through the air and into the arena, greed blood squirting from their bodies. Before they collided with the brittle grass below, Jason raised his machete and moved it slightly¡ªonly a few inches. And yet, all of their bodies exploded in a burst of crimson, blood raining down on us. The masked man then took his chin and bent his head backwards unnaturally, a sickening crack from his neck echoing across the area. Ignoring the pain, I pushed myself off the floor and landed a kick right into Jason¡¯s crotch. He remained standing. Punch after punch, kick after kick, and it was like he didn¡¯t feel a thing. The man lifted the bottom of his mask and the radioactive blood dropped into his mouth. He¡­ swallowed it¡­ Is this guy stupid!? The idiot just made my job way easi- ¡°Radiation Poisoning.¡± An immediate burst of aura erupted from his body, surrounding him like emerald flames as his skin turned green and his height increased. I jumped back a couple meters and slammed my hands together, whispering ¡°Grassyland¡±. Blades of grass shot out from each direction like a coordinated spear attack, however they shattered the moment they touched Jason¡¯s body. Damn it! Blasting the ground with my Fatherly Beam was a good idea initially, but now that all the plants in the ground are dying, I had to find some other way to do damage. While the plants had gotten weaker, Jason¡¯s skin had gotten harder. That wasn¡¯t the only problem. Since I absorbed Sunflower¡¯s body, I couldn¡¯t release any kind of energy blast or construct for the time being¡ªnot until she fully reformed. That also meant I couldn¡¯t absorb any extra energy as that would just taint the regeneration process. Which meant I would have to fight Jason¡­ using only my body. Although, there was something else I would have to avoid in this battle¡­ I pierced through the ground with my hands and pulled out a large slab of the floor. I leaped into the air and was about to bring down the slab when Jason spoke again. ¡°Steroid Overuse: Roided Out.¡± The wood shattered instantly, sending sharp fragments flying everywhere as a force slammed into me, throwing me backward. That piece of shit was using his own power on himself! But if his power works the way I think it does, then how the hell is he still ali- ¡°Where is the kid?¡± For the second time since I met him, Jason spoke like a normal person. I¡¯m starting to think the other nonsense he spouts is just an act. ¡°You talking about the kid you just decapitated?¡± I asked, readying a battle stance. ¡°You¡¯re not gonna see her anymore today. I can promise that.¡± ¡°I have no idea what you¡¯re talking about, Type Two,¡± he responded. His voice made the ooze over my bones vibrate uncomfortably, like jello on a moving plate. ¡°Sunshine. I came for her.¡± I picked up one of the wood fragments from the floor. ¡°You¡¯re gonna have a lot of trouble with that task ¡®cause she¡¯s not with me.¡± ¡°That¡¯s unfortunate,¡± he said, scratching his neck with his blade. ¡°Has death finally met her on your path towards survival?¡± ¡°I got a question that I hope a prick like you can answer. The first time we met, the second I said my daughter¡¯s name you slammed my head against the ground and said something about how I was gonna cause the death of you all. So tell me why you¡¯ve been itching to kill her ever since I left that skyscraper!?¡± ¡°I think you have the wrong idea about what I am, so let me exlp-¡± His sentence was interrupted by a shard of wood slicing through his sleeve. He looked at it momentarily and said, ¡°As I was saying before, you have the wrong idea about who I am. When I first heard about Sunshine¡¯s disease, I was under the assumption that it would kill me as well. It was until I heard that someone like me was actually immune to that fatal disease that I decided to choose another option.¡± ¡°And what option is that?¡± I asked. ¡°Those higher ups forced me to have limited options in the matter, and I despised that. So, I decided instead of capturing that girl, I will kill her.¡± ¡±Huh!?¡± ¡°You sound confused. But the reasoning is very obvious to me.¡± He extended his arms, his radioactive aura radiating across the arena. ¡°I am a man who believes that any competition should be snuffed out immediately, and that child is the most threatening competition I¡¯ve had in the fifty years I¡¯ve been alive. I want to live a life where I¡¯m free to kill any random person walking on the sidewalk, and I will not lose to some girl who¡¯ll kill the entire population using some cheat code disease. If that happens, who¡¯ll be left for me? I need to kill your Sunshine so I can keep doing what I¡¯ve always been doing.¡± Not even a second passed once I heard that speech before I charged towards Jason and punched him in his face. Once again, he treated my attack like a stuffed animal just struck him. He grabbed my skull and planted it into the ground. ¡°You think I¡¯d let a freak like you kill my daughter¡­ after everything you¡¯ve done!¡± I shouted, hitting his arms but to no avail. The guy¡¯s hand was massive and his arms were too. ¡°You will let me kill your daughter, and I¡¯ll give you three reasons why,¡± said Jason. ¡°You asked me a question earlier, about how I can live the rest of my life knowing I¡¯ve done the things that I''ve done. The answer is simple. I can still live because I like killing and there isn¡¯t enough room in my brain to remember all of the irrelevants I¡¯ve killed.¡± The beating in my chest returned, and the pounding was almost painful. Of course it was¡­ I was so confident I could destroy this guy once I absorbed a Type Two, and yet I pretty much erased any winning technique I could¡¯ve used. However, I couldn¡¯t just get manhandled like this while he talked all this bullshit! This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. I decked him in the face again, but he simply grabbed my arm and¡­ A scream forced itself out of my mouth. A crack had echoed through the air as a searing sensation filled my broken arm. ¡°Reason number one¡­¡± He lifted me up with one arm. ¡°You¡¯re too emotional. No one should be this angry over a child dying. Especially in a world like this. If it makes you feel any better, a child is more likely to die from a zombie like you than me.¡± ¡°Multiple¡­¡± I muttered, gripping his face with my other arm.¡°You killed multiple children in front of me! You tried to kill my own daught-¡± ¡°Reason number two¡­¡± He grabbed my uninjured arm and crushed it. Another shriek escaped from me. ¡°You love your daughter too much. That girl will be the death of you. Not yet though. I only intend to capture you.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll¡­ kill-¡± ¡°And finally, reason number three¡­¡± He flung me upwards. ¡°Slammed into a Wall!¡± The world spun unexpectedly, and before I could register what was happening, my back slammed into the wall with bone-rattling force. The unseen power didn¡¯t relent¡ªit pressed harder, driving me through the wall. The ability only stopped once I plummeted to the ground. ¡°You¡¯re weak,¡± asserted Jason, approaching me. ¡°And it¡¯s through your weaknesses that allowed me to see how I could cause you the most pain imaginable. You didn¡¯t feel any pain when I used my ability on you, but every time I landed a couple normal hits¡­¡± He shadowed over my body. ¡°You felt it all, didn¡¯t you?¡± I hated being forced to hear that final reason¡­ ¡®cause it was true. It¡¯s not like I didn¡¯t think up a few last minute plans during the battle, but at the same time¡­ I did way too many things that screwed it all up! I bet if Sunshine was here, she¡¯d probably find a better counter to Jason¡¯s ability than just keeping his mouth shut. Although, maybe there wasn¡¯t anything wrong with that. There¡¯s been plenty of times I¡¯ve survived just fine by just doing the first thing that popped up in my head. Jason pointed his machete at me. ¡°It¡¯s time you come back with me. I¡¯ll make sure to cut you up into pieces before I do though so enjoy it while it las¡­¡± His eyes widened even more than they already were. ¡°You¡¯re insane, Type Two!¡± The masked maniac had broken both of my bones, and yet there was a fire in my imaginary heart that commanded me to use them anyway. And so, I did. It hurt like hell, but I slammed my hands together and yelled¡­ ¡°Grassyland!¡± The grass that my pants were made out sprang to life, hardening into sharp, spear-like points. Then with a sudden lunge, the blades shot forward and struck him square in the chest, driving him backward as he grunted surprisingly. His boots skidded across the ground until he was sent through a small building. I dropped my arms to my side, and the grass returned to my legs. There was no way in hell I was gonna let Jason cut me up. The energy I absorb technically becomes mine, which would mean that Sunflower¡¯s body was also my body. If I got sliced or stabbed in any fatal area, she''ll come out with the same wound. I picked myself back up, my legs doing the heavy lifting while my arms remained limp. I then ran as fast as I could in the opposite direction, hoping my earlier attack at least dazed Jason enough for me to find someplace to recuperate. ¡°You don¡¯t look too good, mister zombie? You should really get those arms checked out!¡± I jumped in shock, turning my head to see¡­ a dragon!? It looked like Rosalina¡¯s dragon, though it was way smaller and a little chubby. ¡°How the hell can you speak!?¡± I questioned, hopping over a fallen street light. ¡°You¡¯re a dragon!¡± It flew around me, examining my body. ¡°How can you speak!? You¡¯re a zombie, aren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°You answer my question first! And while you¡¯re at it, turn back into that big form and start helping me!¡± ¡°No can do,¡± said the dragon, resting its body on my head. ¡°This is the first time I¡¯ve looked like this, but I guess it¡¯s because that big guy destroyed my body completely. I would¡¯ve gone back to my normal form after a while¡­until you decided to bring out my seed and summon me again!¡± Bring out his seed? I don¡¯t remember doing that! And I would remember pulling out something that looked like the thing Rosalima had in her dress. ¡°Why would you keep my seed in your pants!? You¡¯re supposed to keep me in the ground, you do know that, right?¡± If that¡¯s the case¡­ then the seed must¡¯ve flew out once I used my grass technique! ¡°Listen, the original user of these powers just gave them to me, so I don¡¯t really know the specifics of her techniques!¡± I ran to a car on the sidewalk and sat next to it. ¡°I only know how to use them. Not the best ways to use them.¡± The dragon flew next to me and lowered a bit. ¡°That kid you absorbed, she¡¯s not gonna come out in the middle of this fight. I give it a couple days.¡± ¡°A couple days? I don¡¯t have time for that,¡± I whispered, gesturing for it to quit flying. ¡°That guy¡¯s gonna destroy me before that happens. I thought this new form was supposed to make me stronger¡­¡± ¡°You are stronger,¡± he replied, sitting down. ¡°You¡¯re just not using your new abilities to its fullest potential. Not even the other woman was doing that.¡± ¡°Oh yeah? Tell me something I didn¡¯t already know.¡± ¡°You can spawn a lot more than just leaves and weeds. You realize there are a lot more parts of nature than just that, right? It''s too bad I¡¯m sensing a whole bunch of radioactive energy in the ground. If you planned on absorbing the previous user, then why would you destroy the one thing that boosted your power?¡± ¡°I literally told you to tell me something I didn''t know. And I wasn''t expecting that psychopath to come here and fight me. He came out of nowhere.¡± ¡°Does he have a tendency to come out of nowhere?¡± ¡°Yeah, he d-¡± ¡°Sliced to Bits!¡± Without warning, the dragon erupted in an explosion of tiny splinters. I attempted a dash out of the scene. I didn''t get far as Jason caught me by my skull once again and turned my body towards him. Damn it! There is no way I''m gonna lose to this piece of shit! I am not gonna- ¡°Just like we practiced, little lady!¡± Little¡­ lady? That laid back voice sounded familiar¡­ In that instant, an emerald explosion appeared on Jason¡¯s back, causing him to stumble on his feet. His grip loosened, and I was able to shake my head enough to fall back to the ground. There was a kid in front of me¡­a girl. She held a metal bat in one hand and a status board in the other. Her clothes were¡­ similar to what my daughter always wore. ¡°Jerome, it hasn''t been long but¡­ I missed you.¡± Her voice, her hair¡­ ¡°Sunshine!?¡± Chapter 30: My Daughter Has Powers Now!? A wave of confusion, relief, and happiness washed over my body at the sight of my daughter, Sunshine, standing in front of me. It had only been a week since we last saw each other, and yet it felt like an eternity. However, there was something different about her presence this time around. Her small body emitted an aura of newfound strength and confidence that, in my eyes, dwarfed Jason¡¯s radiated bloodlust. And I wasn¡¯t just thinking that because of that metal baseball bat she had in her grip. My daughter literally had a green aura around her. My daughter was named Sunshine because she was the light of my life¡ªlighting up any dark day I was going through. Now, she really was glowing. ¡°S¡­Sunshine!¡± I exclaimed. The smile on my face might¡¯ve cracked even more with how loud I said that. ¡°You¡¯re here! But what happened to our plan to meet back up in a month?¡± To my surprise, she readied a battle stance with the baseball bat, stuffing the status board in her jean pocket. ¡°Apparently, a month¡¯s already passed. Individually for us and possibly worldwide.¡± ¡°Huh!? That can''t be true!¡± I denied. ¡°We can explain the specifics later¡­probably,¡± Sunshine responded. Her voice sounded different¡­as if she had actually grown older. But whose voice changes that much in a hypothetical month? ¡°Anyways Jerome, we got someone else we need to worry ab-¡± Jason swung his machete at Sunshine, aiming for her chest, but my daughter was surprisingly able to jump out of the way. The blade sliced the concrete near my feet, creating a crevice. The realization that I was a bit too close to getting my feet chopped off made me back up a couple meters. Unlike me though, my daughter didn¡¯t back down. Somehow, she was able to land hits on both his feet and elbows, the metal reverberating with each strike. Jason fell to his knees, and Sunshine hopped back, pointing at me with her weapon. ¡°Jerome, the chin! Aim for his chin!¡± Taking her words seriously, I gave Jason¡¯s chin a nice, hard kick. He spun through the air until he crashed into a red truck in the distance. I was confused on how I could suddenly send the guy flying when I couldn¡¯t even make the guy bleed a couple minutes ago. What baffled me even more was that Sunshine was able to damage him. How much stronger did this kid get!? ¡°Why didn¡¯t you vaporize that freak! Your body¡¯s glowing brighter than a flashlight right now!¡± ¡°I absorbed something-well, someone, and I can¡¯t release that energy or else something bad will happen to that person.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°I know it sounds confusing, but we don¡¯t have time for long stories right now. How were you able to do all that!? It¡¯s only been a we-¡± ¡°Quick, put these one,¡± interrupted Sunshine, handing me two small, green orbs. They looked oddly familiar. ¡°Like your ears¡­ oh, shoot! I forgot you don¡¯t have any ears. How can you even hear sounds in the first place? This makes everything so much harder.¡± I noticed that she had the same kind of balls in her ears and asked, ¡°Why are you muffling your hearing with those? You know, hearing is very essential in a fight. You shouldn¡¯t be so careless.¡± I thought that horse-head weirdo would¡¯ve at least told her something that simple. I mean, she¡¯s gonna get herself hurt! ¡°Tell me all the phrases Jason used today!¡± She jumped up to my shoulders and held on. ¡°Try to remember each one he used or we might be screwed!¡± ¡°Phrases? You mean that power he has!? How do you know abou-¡± ¡°We don¡¯t have time for long explanations right now, Jerome! C¡¯mon, phrases. Give ¡®em to me!¡± I thought back to the fight I had for a couple seconds. ¡°Um¡­ he said decapitation¡­ slicing things¡­ he used his ability on himself and that caused me some trouble.¡± ¡°Some trouble? Your arms are broken!¡± she said, scanning my arms. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you heal with your absorption thing already?¡± ¡°Can¡¯t absorb energy either,¡± I replied. ¡°The person inside me wouldn¡¯t be able to handle it all.¡± Sunshine raised an eyebrow. ¡°What kind of person did you absorb?¡± ¡°We can explain the specifics of that later¡­ hopefully! I told you most of the phrases I remember, so now what?¡± ¡°Now, you die!¡± Our attention shifted to the sky, and we realized that Jason had not only recovered from my kick, but he was also carrying the truck he collided with, twirling it in his hands like a basketball. I rushed towards my daughter, aiming to push her out the way, however she already moved out the way, leaving me alone to fend off the psycho. That was until I felt a lackadaisical grip on my viney hair that pulled me backwards before the vehicle was slammed into the ground. ¡°Neeeeigh! Nice transformation, hombre muerto.¡± Oh no¡­ I know that obnoxious sound from anywhere! ¡°Jesus!?¡± I shouted, pulling my vines from his hand. ¡°What the hell are you and my daughter doing here? And what''s all this nonsense about a month already passing?¡±The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. ¡°We can talk about the specifics later¡­ eventually.¡± He pointed his katana behind me. ¡°For now, let''s focus on the more serious task at the moment.¡± I looked back at the two and noticed Sunshine was in the middle of dodging Jason¡¯s blade swings. ¡°The hell are we doing standing around for while my daughter¡¯s out there all alone!¡± I attempted to sprint back into the battle, but a flash of pain filled my arm. That bastard Jesus stopped me in my tracks¡­ ¡°Don¡¯t get so desperate,¡± he said. The guy wasn¡¯t even trying to keep a good hold on me, and yet it still hurt like hell. ¡°You¡¯re the one who put your trust in the little lady to get stronger, right? Just keep watching and you¡¯ll find that she¡¯s gotten pretty interesting.¡± ¡°We can¡¯t just do that! Jason¡¯s ability could kill her instantly!¡± ¡°Remember that thing about the phrases? The thing about Jason¡¯s ability is that he can only say that phrase once before he has to kill something in the exact same way. If he¡¯s already said the words you¡¯re confident he did say, then your kid is safe from any insta-kill move.¡± ¡°That¡¯s useful to know. What about variations? I¡¯ve heard him talking about gunshots in different fatal areas before.¡± ¡°From my time with the man, I¡¯m pretty sure his ability doesn¡¯t allow him to do that. So, if he decided to use that tricky power again, he only has slow death options.¡± Did Jason really use up all of his instant killing phrases? How many of those phrases could possibly exist¡­ ¡°Explosion!¡± I screamed out, causing Jesus to jump in shock. ¡°Aaaah¡­ forgot about that one,¡± Jesus responded casually. Upon this realization, I tried to run to my daughter¡¯s side, but the horse head weirdo wouldn¡¯t let go of me. ¡°Damn it, Jesus! Let go of me or I¡¯ll make you!¡± ¡°Explosion!¡± My imaginary heart dropped when I heard those words. My daughter was about to¡­ Huh!? ¡°Nothing happened!¡± I yelled shockingly. ¡°Aaaah, so that¡¯s why she was talking to him about earplugs,¡± he said, letting out an annoying neigh right after. My focus returned to the fight, and I noticed something was off about Jason. The guy was usually quick on his feet, catching me off guard many times. But his movements were gradually becoming pretty sluggish, allowing my nine year old to effortlessly whack Jason¡¯s body with her bat. He panted like a dog in the summer sun while Sunshine hadn¡¯t even broken a sweat yet. There were two phrases that the man had used on himself. Radiation poisoning and, the thing that must¡¯ve been causing him the most trouble, steroid overdose. A combination of those two was a pretty stupid idea. He was just killing himself by the second. ¡°Jesus, I have a plan to kill that sunnava bitch, but we¡¯ll have to play the waiting game,¡± I said, taking a few steps to the right. ¡°I¡¯m aware of it,¡± he replied back, following me. ¡°The guy¡¯s heart is beating like crazy. And his skin has a weird zombie-ish tone to it.¡± He then pointed towards my daughter and added, ¡°It seems like the little lady¡¯s already figured it out though.¡± Sunshine dropped her weapon and clasped her hands together, extending her index fingers and thumbs to form a finger gun. There was a green mark etched on her forehead, illuminating Jason¡¯s kneeling body. It looked familiar¡­ like when that piece of aura showed up on her head when Johnny was being controlled by her Radius ability. Don¡¯t tell me she¡¯s about to- ¡°Mind Trick: Dog.¡± Jason was paralyzed for a couple seconds, and my fatherly instincts were shouting at me to jump in there. Then, Jason placed his hands on the ground, shook his¡­ ass, and began to bark incessantly. ¡°Sunshine!¡± I approached her, confused about what she just did. ¡°This is your Radius ability, right? How¡¯d you learn how to do that?¡± My daughter, to my disgust, petted Jason¡¯s head affectionately. ¡°Like I said before, a month¡¯s passed so I had time to learn a few moves. And I¡¯ve been¡­ wanting a dog so I guess learning how to do this was easy.¡± First a bed, now a dog¡­ the world¡¯s really changing my daughter¡¯s look on things. ¡°Jesus, how far are the other two from our location?¡± she asked as Jason rubbed his face on hers. I pushed the big guy off of my kid with my foot. ¡°You two came with other people!? Who are-¡± ¡°My energy sense tells me they¡¯re a few hundred feet away from us,¡± he answered, walking over to us. ¡°I¡¯ll finish the job before they get here.¡± ¡°And who is ¡®they¡¯? I thought you two were alone?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it right now,¡± said Sunshine, preparing to bash Jason¡¯s skull, however Jesus stopped her. ¡°I''ll do it,¡± he said, raising his katana above his horse head. ¡°You might waste your time limit using that slow method.¡± The man brought his sword down onto the barking man¡¯s neck. I expected blood to be gushing out of a decapitated head, however Jesus¡¯ arm was blasted back by an imaginary force while Jason panted heavily, oblivious to the fact his life could have ended there. ¡°Geez, he directed all of his aura into his neck and made the ultimate shield with it,¡± said Sunshine. ¡°But how can he do that when he¡¯s still my dog!?¡± ¡°Through sheer willpower, that¡¯s how,¡± Jesus answered, caressing his shoulder. ¡°Serial killers are the most stubborn pieces of shit in the world..¡± ¡°I don¡¯t see what the problem is,¡± I said, readying my foot. ¡±I¡¯ll just aim for something else!¡± I aimed for his chest, but Jason was able to stop me, clenching onto my ankle. ¡°Woof¡­ Woof¡­ Woo, Woo, Wo¡­¡± ¡°Wolf¡¯s Bite!¡± My daughter yelped in pain, and I immediately turned back to see what was wrong. She was clenching her arm, drops of blood seeping through the curved holes in her hoodie sleeve. A cloud of crimson filled my head as a surge of animosity filled every inch of my soul. My body twisted towards Jason on its own, and my foot was this close to connecting with his smiling face before an orb of green energy spawned out of nowhere, protecting Jason. This ball of protection looked very similar to¡­ his. ¡°You assholes! Taking the chance to deal with Jason while you knew we were busy with something!¡± My gaze shifted to the sky, and¡­ there he was. Dante Williams descending towards us in a forcefield. I couldn¡¯t hold myself back. I couldn¡¯t contain the fury of seeing the man who started this entire thing the moment I saw his face. ¡°Dante!¡± Chapter 31: I Thought I Killed You! The chances of Dante meeting a well-deserved end at the hands of my Fatherly Beam should¡¯ve been high. The attack tore through the skyscraper¡¯s walls as if they were soft flesh and clearly made contact with his body, eviscerating every part of his essence. There was no doubt in my mind that a coward like him wouldn¡¯t survive such a deadly force of energy. However, it was the fact that he was a coward that my doubt was immediately shattered upon thinking back on our battle. The possibility that a forcefield was used at the very last second was becoming increasingly high. Or maybe there was another reason¡­ Yet, through the pile of questions falling on top of me, there was one question at the peak of them all that I still needed to know. Why the hell was I still standing here!? ¡°Dante!¡± I jumped into the air at full force, fist vibrating with badly restrained rage. In an instant, I came face to face with the man who tried to ruin my life. My punch slammed into the bubble, sparks flying out of the forcefield and dancing on my glowing body. There was no other sound in the area that was able to drown out the roars tearing their way out of my mouth¡ªnot even Dante, who was speaking to someone within the field. My attention stayed glued onto the loan shark and, with a bit more effort, I launched the forcefield out of my sight. Dante, as usual, wasn¡¯t finished yet. Another forcefield zoomed toward my falling body¡ªa little bigger than the last time I saw them. I slapped my hands together, aiming my knees at the incoming attack. ¡°Grassyland!¡± Spikes of grass from my pants shot downwards and pierced through the forcefield, stopping it just in time as the grass kept my body in the air. Suddenly, the bubble transformed into a giant, green arrow, its tip ominously staring at me while the energy left my grass¡¯ side. Then, it zoomed towards my skull. I extended some more sharp grass towards the arrow, but it swiftly maneuvered around each one and continued its path. The attack just about to stab my head before Jesus somehow leaped in front of me and blocked the attack with his sword, dispersing it. ¡°Two-face!¡±, shouted Jesus, grabbing onto my body. ¡°Stop attacking! This is the Type Two I was talking about before¡ªSunshine¡¯s papi!¡± I snapped out of my anger when I realized Jesus had my injured daughter in his other arm. ¡°Shit! Sunshine, are you okay?¡± I asked, my shaky hands hovering around her wound. Once again, I placed my selfish rage over the safety of my child¡­ Sunshine grinned, wiping the blood from her hands onto her hoodie. ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry so much about me anymore, Jerome. I promised you I¡¯d get stronger, and I did.¡± ¡°Of course I¡¯m gonna worry about you!¡± My tone became more stern. ¡°God, I should¡¯ve never let you fight that monster knowing how much he hates you¡­¡± ¡°Huh¡­?¡± Sunshine¡¯s face looked genuinely confused by my obvious regret. ¡°But weren¡¯t you proud of me? I thought you trusted me to¡­¡± ¡°Sunshine¡­ I¡¯m not-¡± ¡°Your arm!¡±, she blurted out, her eyes sparkling in amazement. ¡°How¡¯d you heal them if you didn¡¯t want to absorb energy?¡± ¡°Oh yeah. Guess I didn¡¯t notice it before,¡± I said, flexing my arm. I was so concerned with trying to hurt Dante that I didn¡¯t even realize my bones were completely fine now. I was sure I didn¡¯t absorb anything as they seemed fine right when I jumped. ¡°Maybe my willpower was so high that my body decided to give me a break for once.¡± The sound of a Status Board ringing decided to butt into the conversation. ¡°Sorry guys, that¡¯s me,¡± said Jesus, pulling out an SB from his pocket. It made me relieved he kept the pants I gave him, but I was confused to see that he had a SB after he had already given me his. ¡°Is that yours?¡± I asked. ¡°Where¡¯d you find one of those in Queens?¡± ¡°Yep, it¡¯s mine,¡± he responded, turning on the phone. ¡°And I bought it.¡± ¡°Where would you buy something as advanced as that?¡± ¡°Got it from a really trustworthy individual. The only problem was that it was very expensive so I came up with a great idea to buy it. I used all of your savings and I-¡± ¡°You used my savings!?¡± I screamed, my body boiling. ¡°What the hell is wrong with you? I was saving that to buy something nice for my Suns-¡± Jesus put his hand up, gesturing for me to stop speaking. ¡°Hombre Muerto, I¡¯m only gonna say this once so take it all in the best you can. We made an alliance with your former enemy.¡± ¡°You teamed up with Dante!? First, you spend all my damn savings and now this?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about him, Jerome,¡± said Sunshine. ¡°We were with him for a couple days, and he can actually be a nice guy when he wants to be.¡± ¡°Sunshine, he kidnapped and threatened to kill you. He¡¯s the reason I¡¯m a zombie, and you want me to believe he can be nice?¡± ¡°That¡¯s the thing though,¡± she said. Her face was rather serious, as if she was being genuine. ¡°He doesn¡¯t remember any of it. Your fight with him, when he first came to Savir¡¯s Deli, anything he did to me¡ªnot a thing!¡± That idiot has amnesia now!? That¡¯s¡­ bullshit! Do these two expect me to forgive this prick after all the things he did to me through the years? Hell, forget the years¡ªthis month alone! Then again, I can¡¯t just look at my kid¡¯s face and not consider the possibility of it. But when the hell would he have lost his memories? ¡°If you need confirmation that he did¡­¡± A blue screen popped out of Jesus¡¯ SB, and the name in the middle read Dante. ¡°Then have a look for yourself.¡±Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. Jesus finally answered the phone, and the person I saw on the other end filled me with a surprisingly high amount of shock. Half of the guy¡¯s face was what I expected it to be¨Cthe slicked black, black hair, the scar etched on his lip, and the clean suit. However, the other side was a completely different story. It was a bloody crimson, a stark contrast to the creamy skin tone on his left side. Wrinkles streaked across it like deep, jagged scars, and his bulging eye¨Cnow matching the red hue of his deformed skin¨Cwas unnaturally wide. Half of his hairline had been pushed back, revealing thick, pulsating veins on his scalp. The hair on that side had turned a blinding white, as though that half alone had aged by about fifty years. He smoothed down that side of his hair, presumably to slick it back, but it immediately sprang back up. There were no eyelids on that bulging, unblinking eye, and this grotesque mix of anger, contempt, fear, and horror seemed to be the only and permanent expression he could keep on that half. To top it all off, there was a long shard of glass lodged right above his eyebrow. I was staring at the devil and only part of the devil stared back, as if I wasn''t worth its full attention. ¡°Jesus, care to repeat what you just said to me?¡± asked Dante, his voice low and rumbling. ¡°C''mon, Two-face! Don''t tell me that ugly scar of yours messed up your hearing too. I said-¡± ¡°Shut up!¡± he shouted, clawing at his devilish right side. ¡°Don''t call it ugly, and don''t call me Two-face! You know how I feel about such a derogatory name¡­¡± Dante began to dig through his pockets. ¡°Do I have to bring out the coin and-¡± ¡°Calm down dude.¡± A slender arm wrapped around Dante¡¯s neck, coming from the man he was talking to earlier. Half his face was covered by a huge, puffy afro that looked like it was dipped in gold for days. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t waste a coin flip on something so boring. Games should be something we can all find enjoyment in, remember?¡± His voice was as lax as Jesus¡¯. No, maybe even more. ¡°Jesus! Why the hell do you have so many weirdos around my daughter!?¡± ¡°Woooah!¡± exclaimed the afro man, shoving his face against the screen. ¡°Horse man wasn¡¯t lying. A talking zombie really does exist.¡± He smiled. ¡°Hey, do zombies like games? Besides ¡®who can devour a human body the fastest?¡¯¡± ¡°Oooh yes, I like to play Red Light, Green Light!¡± Jesus and Sunshine shouted at the same time. ¡°Yeah, me too!¡¯ the afro man responded back ¡°I don¡¯t eat people!¡± I asserted. ¡°And we don¡¯t have time for any dumb games right now.¡± I pointed at Dante. ¡°Why the hell did you stop me from killing Jason!?¡± ¡°Because we¡¯re taking him back with us alive, Jerome!¡± Dante barked, trying to pull the afro man¡¯s arm off his neck. ¡°The real question is why the hell were you attacking me? You owe me hundreds of dollars or did you forget that? I should be the one attacking you!¡± ¡°Why you-¡± ¡°Jesus¡­¡± interrupted the afro man, his tone becoming angrier. ¡°I thought we were gonna play an honest game, and yet you and that girl cheated. A race doesn¡¯t start until the person who brought up the idea says ¡®go.¡¯¡± ¡°Neeeeigh!¡± Jesus blurted out, shaking his horse head. ¡°You¡¯re not trying if you¡¯re not cheating. That¡¯s common knowledge.¡± ¡°Yeah, I guess you¡¯re right!¡± He picked at the tips of his afro. ¡°So no hard feelings on us already in front of Jason, right?¡± The three of us turned our attention back to Jason and realized that the two men were in the middle of carrying Jason¡¯s forcefield. Without hesitation, Jesus launched himself off my chest while I deactivated my Grassyland. I was about to land on the ground when a voice echoed across the area. ¡°Red Light.¡± Suddenly, my body was suspended in the air, paralyzed by an unknown force. Everything around me was red¡ªthe sky, the ground, and even my body. I wasn¡¯t the only one whose movements had stopped as I saw that Jesus, Sunshine, and Dante were all paralyzed. The only one who wasn¡¯t was the man I presumed to be the activator of this ability. He had a hand over the left side of his forehead, lifting up the tip of his afro. Where a normal eye should¡¯ve been, there was a bright red one instead. No discernible pupil or iris¡ªjust pure red. ¡°It¡¯s so hard playing with a bunch of weaklings,¡± the Afro man said, smirking. ¡°I just don''t know when to hold back.¡± Shit! This guy was a Radius. No wonder he was working with Dante. Why''d he have to have such a troublesome ability!? The guy began to saunter towards Jason, casually twirling his lanky arms as if nothing in the world was capable of stopping him. That was until Jesus decided to take up that challenge. ¡°Green Light!¡± The moment Jesus shouted those words the color of the world went back to normal as I was finally able to land on the und. ground. He then threw my daughter on top of the forcefield while I darted towards the four. However, I was stopped in my tracks once again when my daughter yelled ¡°Red Light¡±. Unlike last time, we weren¡¯t paralyzed in the middle of our movements. Instead, I, Dante, and his partner were all teleported back to our original spots before the afro guy had used his ability. My feet hit the concrete once more, and I quickly approached the two. ¡°Hey, how¡¯d you two do all that!?¡± ¡°You two really are a clever duo.¡± I looked behind me, realizing that the afro man had already closed the distance between us. I didn¡¯t realize how tall the guy was until he was standing right behind me. He might¡¯ve been near Jason¡¯s height. ¡°You two became the leaders of my game by knowingly bringing it up first. And since I said the word ¡®yes¡¯, I pretty much agreed to it.¡± He then started to laugh, which was instantly cut short by the ominous frown on his face as he placed his arms inside the pocket of his overly sized blue hoodie. ¡°Don¡¯t think that¡¯s ever gonna happen again.¡± ¡°Care to explain why?¡± asked Jesus, tightening the grip on his katana. ¡°Because my name is Geremiah Obadiah Donovan,¡± he answered, his eyes unnaturally dilated. ¡°But the people who are weaker than me refer to me as G.O.D. What I find amusing is that since everyone is weaker than me, that means everyone, including the four of you in front of me, will call me G.O.D because I am your God.¡± ¡°You¡¯re a real egotistical prick, you know that?¡± I remarked, readying a battle stance. ¡°You can¡¯t attack us, Geremiah. We already won your game, and you can¡¯t go against the restrictions of your ability,¡± said Jesus. Geremiah paused for a while, seemingly debating on whether he should attempt to kill us or not. An awkward silence lingered just long enough for Dante to make his way over to us. Then, Geremiah spoke. ¡°Yeah, you did win. You cheated, but it isn¡¯t like my ability can track that anyway. But I¡¯m not gonna sit back and lose so pathetically. We¡¯re gonna make a new game.¡± Jesus pointed his blade at the man. ¡°Sorry, but we¡¯ve had enough of your games for a long time.¡± ¡°Me too,¡± Dante cut in, covering the normal half of his face. ¡°Let¡¯s hurry up and take back Jason by force. Kill ¡®em all if we have to. My future position is riding on this!¡± He quickly removed his hand and covered the scarred side. ¡°Don¡¯t spit out nonsense like that! Keep the girl alive¡­ She''s cool.¡± Is he¡­ talking to himself? ¡°Jesus, what if I said I had info on the whereabouts of your son and the man who took him away from you. Would you agree to a game of tag then?¡± I could tell Geremiah¡¯s question struck Jesus deeply as the horse headed man didn¡¯t say a word, clenching his sword intensely. The silence was only broken by Sunshine asking, ¡°You know about Diego!? Tell us where he-¡± ¡°Alright, we¡¯ll play your damn game,¡± Jesus conceded, softening his grip. ¡°Tell us the rules so we can get on with it.¡± Geremiah¡¯s frown remained on his face, as if the concession hadn¡¯t satisfied him enough. ¡°First, we¡¯ll have to determine the location of our prize.¡± He turned to Dante. ¡°Dante, you decide where Jason goes.¡± Dante began to sweat, hesitating to go along with Geremiah¡¯s dumb game. Then, he sighed, took out a quarter from his pocket, and walked over to Jason. ¡°Heads, you head all the way to Hallowsville. Tails, the Slavelands.¡± He flipped the coin high into the air, and it came down with a soft slap into his palm, his fingers curling over it briefly before revealing the face of the coin¡ªheads. ¡°Hallowsville,¡± said Dante, sighing in disappointment. ¡°Just wait a minute!¡± I screamed, grabbing Dante¡¯s shoulder. ¡°That psychopath isn''t moving a damn inch! You hear me?¡± Dante¡¯s crimson eye shifted to me as he covered the normal half of his face. ¡°Don¡¯t catch yourself in a penalty, Jerome. The game¡¯s already started, and we can''t do anything about it.¡± ¡°Huh? I didn''t agree to any-¡± ¡°Mach 50!¡± We were all blown back by a tremendous gust of wind, aside from Geremiah. Not only had the forcefield vanished, but Jason had too. ¡°No!¡± I gripped onto Dante¡¯s suit. ¡°Why the hell would you deactivate your forcefield!? You Radius are all so stupid?¡± ¡°Radius?¡± Dante removed his hand on the other half and covered the red side. ¡°Jerome, how the hell do you know about the Radius?¡± Damn! I forgot this idiot doesn¡¯t remember what happened! ¡°This game will be a mixture of a race and tag.¡± Geremiah waved around a status board with a moving red dot on a map. ¡°I¡¯ll explain the rules, and then we can start.¡± Chapter 32: Let The Race Begin! According to the afro man, whose name turned out to be Geremiah, we would be forced to play in a game that was a combination of a regular race and tag. Except the rules, restrictions, and conditions for the participants seemed a little unnecessary to me. The path to Hallowsville from our current location would take us about a week to traverse, not including any obstacles we¡¯d have to face on our way such as any random fights we might have. Obviously, there¡¯d be two teams for the game. Team B, which consisted of Sunshine, Jesus, and me. Then, there was Team A, which had Dante and Geremiah. You¡¯d think that since we had more manpower, Dante¡¯s team would be at a disadvantage, however, I had a strong belief that that wasn¡¯t the case. I was pretty sure Geremiah didn¡¯t consider Sunshine to be a participant he needed to take seriously, and I¡­ agreed with that. I wouldn¡¯t tell her that to her face though. It was either that or the guy was confident he could win a two-on-three. He did make ¡°G.O.D¡± his nickname, after all. During those seven days, we could use three as rest days if we chose. If we used four or more days to rest, then Geremiah would inflict our team with a ¡°penalty¡± or ¡°punishment¡±. I had no idea how the man would be able to know whether we did that or not until he raised his hand and summoned two referees from nothing. They were shaped like humans, and yet their bodies were metallic. They also had robotic, yellow eyes that stared at me, flashing at random times. That moving red dot on Geremiah¡¯s status board was Jason¡¯s tracker, and the refs had that information installed in them like a GPS. He said there were other random rules, but since Geremiah had come up with the game on the fly, he couldn¡¯t tell us what the rules actually were. Well, it shouldn¡¯t have been too bad or unfair if he didn¡¯t know the rules too. Although, it would be bad if he was lying about that¡­ While the two teams would have to move on different roads to Hallowsville, Geremiah assured us that none of us would have an advantage over the other. Even though that was all the information we needed to know, I still had one other question I needed G.O.D to answer. ¡°Why did Jason go along with this stupid game?¡±, I asked Geremiah. ¡°He wouldn¡¯t be the type to do that.¡± Geremiah¡¯s disapproving frown stretched down further as his eyes dilated even more, piercing my soul. ¡°I thought the answer was obvious. It¡¯s because Jason fears me.¡± ¡°Huh? So you¡¯re stronger than him? If that¡¯s the case, then how the hell can you know the type of person Jason is and let that guy live!?¡± ¡°That¡¯s enough questions, zombie man. I didn¡¯t think a brainless animal could store so many questions inside its head,¡± he retorted, the tips of his afro falling over his eyes. ¡°I think it¡¯s time we start this game already.¡± He placed a hand on the referee¡¯s head¡ªthe one he had next to him. ¡°Start the timer. Make it two minutes.¡± The robot began to tremble, as though G.O.D had hands made of lightning. Then, its mouth opened, and it started a countdown. 119 seconds! ¡°Jesus, what were you thinking including us in this shit?¡±, I whispered to him. ¡°And you never told me you had a son.¡± ¡°Have. My son¡¯s still alive,¡± he asserted. He sounded like I just committed a great offense but was trying to contain himself. ¡°And don¡¯t you think I¡¯ve told you enough about my identity?¡± ¡°No, you haven¡¯t,¡± I answered. ¡°Me and my daughter know nothing about you besides you being a former Radius member. We don''t even know what you look like under that mask. For all we know, you could be a sp-¡± ¡°Ya basta, sheesh.¡± Jesus sighed, rubbing the mane on his horse head. ¡°I see what the little lady means now. You really don¡¯t have a lot of faith in anyone.¡± My voice raised a little bit. ¡°Sunshine would never say anything like that! I don¡¯t even know why you think she¡¯d be up for this game. She¡¯s obviously on my side about this.¡± ¡°You sure about that?¡± he asked, pointing at my daughter. She was stretching her legs like a track runner, and then started practicing her bat swings a couple seconds after. ¡°Your kid wants Jason out of her life just as much as you do, but she¡¯s smart enough to know you can¡¯t just yell out some words or throw some punches and think people will do what you say. Sometimes, you gotta find a way to win using another method. Follow the rules perhaps.¡± ¡°How about they follow my fist going into their face after I change those rules!?¡± I said that so confidently that I almost thought Jesus would change his mind about the whole thing. ¡°Hombre muerto¡­ that was really corny. I know guys get cornier with age but damn, man.¡± ¡°Shut up! Just give me a good reason why we have to do this.¡± ¡°Listen, since you yourself are a papi, then you should be able to understand my situation here. Our self-proclaimed God here made it personal and involved my family. That got me intrigued to go along with all this. You can''t tell me if you were in my boots and the only way to find your daughter was to win this game that you wouldn''t do it.¡± Jesus placed a hand on my shoulder. ¡°Jerome, I''m asking you as a fellow papi to another, let''s run this race so we can both get what we want.¡± I paused, thinking of how I wanted to respond back to him. For someone who always spoke like a man who didn¡¯t take anything seriously, his voice was different this time. He sounded like¡­ me. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll do it. It¡¯s not like I had a choice anyway. We¡¯re all going to the same place.¡± It¡¯d be hypocritical to care so much about Rosalina¡¯s problems, but not help out Jesus with his.You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. Jesus shook my hand. ¡°I hope you can keep up with me. After all, I am a horse man.¡± ¡°Well, I have one thing I need to discuss with my kid before we do this, horse man. I got a lead on a potential cure for Sunshine all the way in Philadelphia.¡± ¡°Philly?¡± ¡°Yeah, and if she thinks it''s more important to check that out first, then that¡¯s what we¡¯re gonna do.¡± ¡°Well, with a reason like that then it wouldn¡¯t feel right to stop you. But doing that would be forfeiting the game, and I¡¯m sure you won¡¯t be allowed to pursue Jason as long as Geremiah¡¯s around.¡± I began to approach Sunshine, patting Jesus on the back. ¡°Then I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll be able to kill Jason for us, right?¡± He chuckled softly, leaving the question in the air. 99 seconds! ¡°Sunshine, you look pumped for this,¡± I said, crouching down. ¡°Of course I am,¡± she said, hopping in place like a bunny. ¡°Geremiah¡¯s ability is tricky, but it shouldn¡¯t be too challenging as long as we¡¯re together.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t really care if it¡¯s tricky. I¡¯m more worried about the danger of it.¡± ¡°You don''t have to worry about any danger,¡± she assured. ¡°From the time I spent with him, he didn¡¯t really give off any sinister vibes.¡± ¡°I was more so talking about the danger you¡¯ll be in. Sunshine, I really don¡¯t think-¡± Sunshine stopped jumping and put a hand in front of my face. ¡°Hold it right there. I just really need to say this since I wasn¡¯t able to before.¡± Her eyes lit up. ¡°You look sooo cool now! How¡¯d you get such a cool transformation in the first place!? You said you absorbed someone, right?¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± I answered, confused as to why she interrupted our serious conversation like that. ¡°Got it today actually. But seriously though, I don¡¯t think you¡¯re-¡± ¡°Look at your hair! You finally have hair now. I bet that feels good since you¡¯ve been bald for so long. And that smile is so cool too. I bet you¡¯re like really strong now, right? Maybe we co-¡± ¡°Sunshine, why do you keep interrupting me?¡± I said, my voice now stern. ¡°I don¡¯t think you realize how serious this is. Your life is at stake here.¡± Sunshine furrowed her brows. ¡°I keep interrupting you because I know I¡¯m not gonna like what you¡¯re gonna say sometimes. And you just proved me right. Do you really think Jason could kill me? You saw me fight him.¡± ¡°But did you beat him? No, you didn¡¯t.¡± I caressed her puffy hair. It¡¯s changed since the last time I saw her. It was like basketballs were on top of her head¨Cheld together by rubber bands. ¡°For your situation, you can¡¯t just be satisfied with beating someone. You¡¯re gonna have to do more than that if you want to be a fighter. I don¡¯t know if the Radius want to capture or kill you, but I do know that they¡¯re gonna ruin your life either way. Then, there¡¯s your disease. There are two ways you could die, and you need to acknowledge those ways before you do anything else.¡± Sunshine hesitated to reply, staring at her baseball bat. ¡°Do you think I¡¯m going to die from this disease?¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°You said the last time we saw each other that I should keep going and keep fighting even if my disease makes me pass out. I also remember you saying that you wanted to see how much stronger I got once you see me again.¡± Her eyes turned to me, and I noticed that an immense determination had been lit in her eyes. ¡°Well, that¡¯s exactly what I did. Every time the disease punched me, I punched it right back. There was no way I was gonna let it stop me from getting stronger, and there¡¯s definitely no way I¡¯m gonna let it kill me either. You can believe that.¡± I laughed softly. And here I was thinking I needed a direct answer from her. She already made her choice a while ago. I raised my fist towards my daughter, gesturing for a fist bump. ¡°I better see you give it your all. You are stronger, after all.¡± She bumped my fist, smiling from ear to ear. ¡°We¡¯re not gonna lose. I have to show you a few more tricks while we''re at it too.¡± ¡°I''m sure you will. But first, we''ll have to discuss a couple important things. Like what happened during the time we weren''t together and why you guys are telling me an entire month passed out of nowhere. Plus, I was able to find a¡­ medicine to help you with your-¡± A hand on my shoulder caught my attention. I looked back to see who would dare interrupt my important father-daughter time with Sunshine, and I realized that it was¡­ Dante! ¡°What do you want?¡± I hissed, glaring at him. ¡°I need to talk to you for a bit¡­ alone.¡± I could tell he was trying his best to sound intimidating, which obviously didn¡¯t work. ¡°Is it important?¡± I asked, standing back up. ¡°Yeah, it is.¡± He turned to a car and began to walk towards it. ¡°Keep stretching those legs,¡± I said to my daughter. ¡°Being able to run is-¡± ¡°One of the most important parts of survival. Yeah, I know that already.¡± 50 seconds! ¡°I¡¯ll have you know that I wasn¡¯t finished talking to my kid so let¡¯s make this quick,¡± I said, approaching Dante as he took a seat on the car¡¯s hood. ¡°I just have a question for you, and I hope you¡¯ll answer it truthfully,¡± he said, taking out a flask container from his chest pocket. He took a swig of the drink, but since half of his mouth was stuck in a perpetual grimace, he could only stick the flask in the other side of his mouth. Once he was finished, he asked, ¡°How did you become a zombie? I mean, obviously it''s ¡®cause another zombie bit you, but what were the events that lead to that shit happening?¡± ¡°It wasn¡¯t just one zombie¡­ It was a whole group of those monsters. They chomped on me and tore me limb from limb. I was pretty surprised when I woke up in this body considering there was probably nothing left of me.¡± ¡°That sounds painful.¡± ¡°And you wanna know who caused such a painful experience to happen to me.¡± I pointed a finger at Dante. ¡°It was you.¡± Dante paused, sighing. ¡°I should''ve figured that. Last thing I remember was me holding up your kid in the air. I assume you tried saving her and your plan ended like¡­ well, you know. No wonder you attacked me.¡± ¡°I know you lost your memory Dante, but that doesn¡¯t excuse everything you did to try and make my life complete shit. And it definitely doesn¡¯t excuse you from threatening my daughter¡¯s life either.¡± ¡°You know, your daughter helped me realize some things about myself¡­ and about the relationship she has with you.¡± He shoved the flask back into his pocket and gave me a somber look. He covered his scarred half and said, ¡°It was wrong of me to try and trample on that relationship. I should have never-¡± ¡°I¡¯m gonna stop you right there,¡± I said, holding my hand up. ¡°I don¡¯t have time for this shit.¡± I started to walk away, however, Dante wasn¡¯t finished just yet. ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± The sudden apology stopped me in my tracks. I never thought I¡¯d hear those two words come out of a loan shark¡¯s mouth, and yet here the boss of them was doing so. ¡°I think I finally understand how you felt all those years we clowned on you back in Woodshaven. How it feels to be looked down on, seen as weak¡­ pathetic. This permanent scar is a constant reminder of that. I want to kill whoever did this shit to me, but until I find them, making right with the people I¡¯ve wronged is my current goal.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t forgive you,¡± I said, looking back at him. He got up from his seat. ¡°Jerome, I said I¡¯m sorry.¡± ¡°Yeah, and I do not forgive you,¡± I repeated, hoping he¡¯d get the message. ¡°You want some kind of closure so you can move on to something else? You really think it¡¯s that easy to get someone to forgive you? Trust me kid, it¡¯s not. You¡¯re gonna have to do a whole lot for that to happen.¡± Dante gritted his teeth, clearly unsatisfied with my answer. ¡°But that¡­ ok¡­ fine.¡± He walked back to Geremiah who was speaking to Jesus. 5 seconds! ¡°Finally¡­¡± said Geremiah, his lips curling into a mischievous smile. ¡°Let the race¡­¡± 1 second! ¡°Begin!¡± Character Recap! Jerome Hunter: That¡¯s me! I¡¯m the main character of the story and father to my beloved daughter, Sunshine! I was eaten by a couple of zombies, and now I¡¯m a zombie. Can you believe that? I can¡¯t do anything a regular could do and I don¡¯t even have everything a human should have. Including a di¡­ anyways! I¡¯m a special kind of zombie called a Type Two Radion, and I have the ability to absorb different kinds of energy and release them in different ways. Since my daughter thinks that¡¯s pretty cool, I think it¡¯s pretty cool too. These dumb Radius guys are trying to capture me and kill my daughter ¡®cause apparently we¡¯re gonna ¡°start a new apocalypse¡±. Well, you wanna know what I told them? ¡°Screw the apocalypse!¡± Those assholes think they¡¯re gonna take my daughter away from me without a fight? Hell no! Sunshine: My beloved daughter! The light of my life and the only reason this whole apocalypse shit hasn¡¯t made me go crazy yet. She¡¯s pretty smart for her age, though I think it¡¯s ¡®cause of this ability she has. Don¡¯t know what it is specifically, but it¡¯s pretty wonky. She was infected with this stupid disease that¡¯s currently eating her life away, and if I don¡¯t hurry up and find a cure, she¡¯ll be dead by the end of the year! I found a few things that made her feel better, but no luck in finding a cure. According to Rosalina, there¡¯s someone who might know about a cure in good ole¡¯ Philadelphia. Guess that¡¯s our next stop. Jesus Hernandez: A complete weirdo who doesn¡¯t wear any clothes besides tighty whities and a Halloween horse head. I can¡¯t believe I let this guy train my daughter¡­ But I guess he¡¯s pretty strong. He caught me off guard a few times with that explosion ability of his. It only happens when he swings that katana of his, but it definitely packs a punch. However, I couldn¡¯t just let that freak train my kid without any damn pants on so I gave him mine. It¡¯s not too unfortunate for me. After all, I¡¯m a zombie and I don¡¯t have a¡­ Damn it! Rosalina Ramirez: She was a Type Two Radion like me. Once a human, she was turned into a zombie in an attempt to save her daughter, and after witnessing that in the state between absorption, my respect for her went way up! I mean, who wouldn¡¯t be impressed with such a selfless feat like that. She reminded me of me. But it took a lot for her to show that side of her to me. She had the ability to control aspects of nature, such as plant life. Since I absorbed her, her ability is mine now, and I intend to use it just as well as she did. No¡­ even better!Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. Sunflower Ramirez: She¡¯s Rosalina¡¯s daughter and the girl I¡¯m currently trying to revive after a maniac cut her head off! She¡¯s pretty small for her age. If what I heard during the state between absorption was correct, then she¡¯s actually sixteen years old! Six at the start of the apocalypse, ten years have passed since then¡­ Geez! She¡¯s only Sunshine¡¯s height and my daughter is nine. Maybe it¡¯s ¡¯cause Rosalima turned her body into a living plant in order to ¡°immortalize¡± her. Makes sense. She hadn¡¯t seen her daughter in a couple years at that point. Jason: I don¡¯t usually curse as a father to a nine year old, but for this psycho I will. Fuck this piece of shit! This guy has killed two kids in front of me and tried to kill my daughter. Hell, he still wants to kill her. According to him, he sees Sunshine as competition and her disease as a threat to his current lifestyle. Pretty stupid reason to kill her considering he¡¯s immune to her contagious disease. This guy rarely speaks like a normal person too. His speech only consists of ¡°ways a person can die¡± like decapitation or heart attacks. You know what¡¯s even weirder? His ability allows him to make these phrases a reality! I¡¯d say he¡¯s the strongest member of the Radius I¡¯ve faced so far, however there¡¯s still one other guy that seems pretty iffy to me. Kofi: This guy might be just as crazy as Jason. They look to be best friends which makes Kofi crazy by default! He¡¯s a member of the Underground Radius, but he didn¡¯t seem to be happy in his current position. The guy desires chaos and bloodshed. Maybe that¡¯s why he let me and Sunshine escape the Underground City¡­ But if he¡¯s looking for a future fight, I¡¯ll be sure to give him an ass whooping he¡¯ll never forget. That might be hard though since he has the ability to control electricity. Maybe with this new form I received, I could finally keep up with him. Dante: Ok, I lied before. I have to curse just one more time¡­ Fuck this piece of shit too! This guy has been tormenting and embarrassing for I don¡¯t know how long. And to top it all off, he was the leader of the Loan Sharks and I owned this guy a ton of money. This guy scammed me and made me give my little girl alcohol! He was stronger than me, and he was the reason I became a zombie in the first place. However, what kind of father would I be if I let this dude kidnap Sunshine and make her fear for her life! So, I destroyed him and those dumb little forcefields he likes to use. Hopefully, he doesn¡¯t return. Although, I''m pretty sure he¡¯s dead. Elias: Found out this guy was a slave owner in the state between absorptions. Well, he told me before I found out there, but the things I saw him do to Rosalina in that shed was just¡­ sickening. Haven¡¯t seen him since Jason smacked him to a wall though. If I ever see him again, he¡¯ll definitely have a talk with my fist. Chapter 32.5: Dante POV 1: Two-Face There was the body of a man in front of me. He was strapped to a real dirty chair, and the rope was so tight on his limbs that I almost thought he was bleeding with how red his skin was. He was bleeding, just not from his restraints. He had these wide, pulsating gashes across his face, shoulders, and hands¨Cblood spilling from the wounds. I caressed my scarred face, sympathizing with the man¡¯s new appearance. It still hurt whenever I touched my other half, but the last thing I wanted to do was forget this irritating pain. I already had amnesia. There¡¯s no need to lose any more memories. Luckily for this poor, tortured soul here, there was some nuclear energy I could utilize in the room, so I was able to create a couple of small forcefields within the cuts, preventing the dude from bleeding out any further. As I expected, that freak Jason decided to relieve his sick urges on this guy, going way too far in the process. We were only supposed to get some info on the Radius¡¯ stolen cash, and yet I¡¯m sure Jason didn¡¯t even say a word about any of that. Now that I think about it, why the hell did Kofi tell that psycho to go down first? No one who¡¯s normal can understand that idiot! ¡°Damn it all!¡± I hissed, throwing the table of bloody weapons at a wall. As the various metals crashed to the ground, I realized something unfortunate. Even though I sealed his wounds there was a good chance he was already dead. If that was the case, then I¡¯d have to find a new- ¡°Wh-Wh-What the hell is happening to me!? Get me out of here!¡± I whirled my body around, and I was surprised to see that the guy was still alive. Even with all that blood on the floor, he was alive¡­ and loud. I quickly approached him and said, ¡°Alright buddy, calm down.¡± ¡°Oh God¡­ are you with that masked man!?¡± he screamed, eyes widened as he erratically shook his chair. ¡°No, I¡¯m not,¡± I assured, pulling up a seat. ¡°Bullshit!¡± he shouted. ¡°Who are you, huh? Why else would you be down here if you weren¡¯t gonna hurt me?¡± ¡°Listen, I¡¯m just trying-¡± ¡°No, get the hell out of my face! I don¡¯t even know why I¡¯m in h-¡± A quick slap to his face was able to shut him up, allowing me to finish my sentence. I then took a seat in front of him and said, ¡°As I was saying, I¡¯m just trying to save you from any more sick shit that could be done to you. All you need to do is tell me where the cash your guys stole is.¡± ¡°C-C-Cash!? That¡¯s what this is about?¡± he asked, sweat dripping from his face. ¡°Yeah, no shit,¡± I said, my voice growing more intense. ¡°A bunch of you assholes hijacked one of our trucks¡ªtrucks owned by the Radius. It had a safe in it with thousands of our goddamn money in it, and they know that you know where it is.¡± He hesitated to respond for a moment. ¡°I-I don¡¯t got any idea what you¡¯re talking about, man. I was in Woodshaven this whole week.¡± ¡°One of the loan collectors saw you counting over a hundred bucks in your hands.¡± ¡°Being a resource adventure pays well,¡± he replied quickly after. ¡°Cut the bullshit. Nowhere on your status board does it list you as a resource adventurer. You''re just a normal guy.¡± Slowly, I placed a hand on his knee, attempting to calm him down. ¡°Listen man, the faster you tell us the truth, the faster you''ll get out of here.¡± The guy took a few deep breaths, and his body was beginning to feel less tense. ¡°I have a family, man. Everything I do is for them. Please don''t make me go through that torture again. Please! I don¡¯t wanna die, man.¡± ¡°Believe me, you¡¯re not gonna die,¡± I said, gripping his thigh. ¡°Look at my face real quick.¡¯ I pointed at my scarred half which grabbed his attention as I subtly hid my gun from his line of sight. Although, I was sure he was staring at it anyway. ¡°Who do I look like sticking a few more knives in your face when I look like this? You know how much pain this shit causes me every day? Living with this is torture for me, and you think I''m gonna torture you?¡±The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°My body hurts. My face hurts.¡± His brows furrowed. ¡°My kids are gonna be calling me ¡®Scarface¡¯ for the rest of my life.¡± I chuckled. ¡°Then we got something in common here. But there are worse things you could be called besides Scarface. rface. Like ¡®Random Goon: 1994-2024¡¯ maybe.¡± ¡°Yeah, or Two-Face,¡± he laughed softly. My smile immediately faded the second I heard that name, a dark cloud shadowing over my head. ¡°What did you call me?¡± He had this awkward smile on his face, seemingly thinking of what he should say next. ¡°Um¡­ you know, Two-Face. Because one half of your face looks normal and the other looks¡­¡± I removed my hand from his leg. ¡°Ugly? Disgusting? Grotesque? Scary? Like the devil?¡± ¡°No¡­ it looks¡­ different. Not bad but different.¡± I didn¡¯t reply back, simply stared at his sweaty face. ¡°I feel like I¡¯ve seen you from somewhere. You look familiar. Does your name start with a¡­ L?¡± ¡°Yeah, sure. I¡¯m fucking Lyra,¡± I said, getting up from my seat and turning on my status board. ¡°Hurry up and tell me what you know.¡± He let out another awkward laugh and said, ¡°Oh, yeah. Well, you were right about a group hijacking a few trucks and copping ourselves a couple thousands. We were working for someone else. His name is is is is is is is is is¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.¡± ¡°Heads or tails,¡± I said, pulling out my flask container from my chest pocket. ¡°Huh? What are you asking me that for? I was just telling you th-¡± ¡°Heads or tails,¡± I repeated, my fingers denting the metal. The man¡¯s lips quivered. ¡°What are¡­ my options? I need to know what¡¯s at stake here.¡± I caressed the unkempt side of my hair with shaky hands, failing to smooth it out. ¡°You have two options, and everything is at stake here. Heads or tails.¡± ¡°Listen man, you said you wouldn¡¯t¡­ hurt me,¡± he whimpered, eyes wavering. ¡°If its because I said Two-Face, then I¡¯m sor-¡± The guy didn¡¯t say another word before I repeatedly shot him in the head, etching bullet hole after hole until his face was completely unrecognizable. I knew my normal half wouldn¡¯t be able to do it, so I left it all to my abnormal half to get rid of the prick. Asshole deserved it too, thinking he can call me something so goddamn disrespectful! ¡°Two-Face!? Two-Face, bitch!?¡± I shouted, towering over the strapped corpse. ¡°You think I want to look like this? Everything I do for you people, and this is the fucking respect you give back to me?¡± I began to kick the body, blood staining my black shoes. ¡°You wouldn¡¯t be dead right now if you had just kept your stupid mouth shut. You made me do th-¡± A pathetic yelp escaped from my mouth as I slipped on the pool of blood. I hit my head on the wooden floor, and I groaned in pain. I sat there for a while, waiting for the pain to subside before picking myself back up. The moment I saw what I had done in front of me, I clenched my head in disappointment. ¡°Aaaah fuck!¡± I screamed. ¡°I screwed it all up again!¡± I knew I wasn¡¯t in the right state of mind when I did this. There was no damn way I would do this if my head was¡­ normal like it was before! Apparently, there was another assignment I had screwed up on¡ªsomething to do with a zombie and that contagious disease infecting everyone. According to the higher ups, the Type Two that I captured with my forcefield betrayed me and beat my ass pretty badly. If my dad found out I screwed up this assignment too¡­ Damn it! There¡¯s no way I could let him know about this. I whipped my head over to the set of machetes on the ground and realized what I needed to do. I jumped back up to my feet and bolted towards the bloody tools. That was when a towering wall spawned in front of me, sending me back to the floor. I looked up and was shocked to see that Jason had entered the room. ¡°Hey, move it you big oaf! I already decided the room was mine since you clearly suck at interrogating!¡± Jason didn¡¯t respond to me, instead glancing at the corpse behind me. ¡°I was this close to getting the info, but that piece of shit attacked me! I had to finish him off with self-defense. I had no other choice.¡± ¡°Decapitation?¡± ¡°What?¡± I said, summoning a small forcefield at the side of my left cheek. ¡°Lethal Injection.¡± ¡°Would you speak normally, you big piece of-¡± Jason landed a punch on my cheek, causing me to fly through the room and crash into the wall. Even with the forcefield, it felt like a sledgehammer had slammed into my face. ¡°This is why¡­ I hate working with you,¡± I muttered. [Did he really fail such a simple task? My disappointment for a son¡­] A familiar voice shot my body up, the pain of the attack instantly leaving my memory. It was my dad. I checked my pockets and, to my dismay, Jason had somehow stolen my SB in the same moment he attacked me. But how the hell could someone move that quickly!? ¡°Impaled through the head?¡± [No, it would be unlikely that they¡¯d still be near Woodshaven after we captured one of their men. I¡¯m sure they¡¯ve already changed locations by this time. If only the boy I¡¯m forced to call my son hadn¡¯t let his silly temper get the better of him.] ¡°That¡¯s bullshit, Jason!¡± I yelled, struggling to stand up. ¡°You tortured that man till he passed out from the pain. Did you even ask him a single que-¡± [That¡¯s enough, Dante! You will report to Underground A right this instant, and I don¡¯t want to hear any more complaints from you. Understand?] ¡°But¡­ Fine. Ok.¡± [You¡¯re in your twenties, and yet still act like a child? Pathetic] My dad hung up, and the weight of his words began to crush me like an elephant¡¯s foot crushing an ant. In my twenties? Can¡¯t believe he couldn¡¯t even remember my exact age¡­ ¡°Choked to death,¡± said Jason, gesturing to me to follow him like a trainer would with a dog. Jason¡­ don¡¯t think I¡¯m gonna let this slide¡­ Chapter 33: Training with my Daughter! Instead of immediately moving towards the direction of Hallowsville the second the referee said ¡°Go¡±, I had another plan in mind. There was no way I was gonna leave Barclays Center without picking out every piece of marijuana that was in there. Rosalina had unknowingly given me a gift to give to my daughter, and I planned on cherishing it till that disease was gone for good. Obviously, that meant we were behind in the race, but who said we needed to run the whole thing? Cars existed for a reason, and my daughter along with Jesus agreed that carrying two big bags of weed on foot sounded like a shitty idea. Unfortunately, there was one problem about owning a car in a post-apocalyptic world. You needed gasoline to keep it running, and we didn''t have any of that. So until Jesus could come back with some gas, we had no choice but to use this first day as a rest day. We could¡¯ve used this time to gather food, strategize, maybe even have a proper conversation about what happened this month. However, Sunshine had a better idea. An idea that was definitely a good use of our time. ¡°Alright Jerome, you ready?¡± asked Sunshine, practicing hits with her baseball bat on a large rock. ¡°I guess¡­ But I don''t really feel right about fighting my daughter,¡± I said, tying my vine hair into a bun. Unlike my last transformation back in the Underground, this plant one lasted a lot longer than I thought it would. My last transformation disappeared after two battles, and yet this one was still here for the whole day. Jesus had used Energy Sense on my body and noticed that there were three distinct forms of aura inside me. According to him, anyone with powers like ours had one and they were permanent. I presumed that two of those auras belonged to Rosalina and I. The third must¡¯ve been that Type Two I absorbed during my fight with Dante. And if that was the case, then these forms should work like transformations. But how would I access the third one? ¡°We''re not really fighting¡­ It¡¯s more like training,¡± she noted, taking her backpack off. ¡°Training for you, obviously.¡± ¡°Oh, I see. You''re gonna train your old man, eh?¡± I readied a battle stance, mimicking an old boxer I saw online once. ¡°What''s my little girl gonna teach me?¡¯ Sunshine pulled out a water bottle from her bag and chugged half of it. ¡°You lost that fight with Jason. Why do you think you did?¡± ¡°Because his Radius ability is way too unfair to fight against. I mean, you know how it works, right?¡± ¡°Yeah, it''s a strong power. But every power has some kind of weakness,¡± she said, placing the bottle back in her bag. ¡°You can''t absorb energy unless your body¡¯s touching it, and I can''t use my Mind Trick unless my fingers are pointed at something visible. As for Jason''s weakness¡­¡± She spun her metal bat in her hand and, with a powerful swing, struck the weathered rock, shattering it to small pieces. Then, she picked up one of the rocks and asked, ¡°You see this rock, right?¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± I answered, confused by where she was going with this. ¡°It was pretty jarring to see my nine year old perform such a crazy feat. What kind of training was Jesus giving her!? Suddenly, the rock was mere inches away from my face, but I was able to grab it and crush it into dust before it could hit me. ¡°What did you do that for!?¡± My daughter chuckled, swinging the bat on her finger like a basketball. ¡°You were able to touch that rock, right? And you were able to crush it?¡± ¡°Yeah¡­ where are you going with this?¡± I asked, wiping the dust on my grass pants. She held out her hand to me. ¡°Do you see a rock here?¡± ¡°No¡­ I feel like you''re messing with me somehow.¡± She whipped her arm towards me, seemingly pretending to throw a rock at me. ¡°Did you feel the rock hit you? Did you hear it hit you?¡± ¡°Didn''t feel a thing. What does this have to do with Ja¡­ Oh, I see what you''re trying to say. This has something to do with senses, doesn''t it?¡± She smiled. ¡°I knew you''d get it eventually. Yeah, the best way to counter Jason¡¯s power is to prevent an interaction with three of his senses. He needs to see, smell, and hear you to activate his ability. Escape his line of sight, and you¡¯re good. Even if he does see you, as long as you don¡¯t say a word or some outside source is muffling your personal sounds, his ability won¡¯t have any effect.¡±This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. Wow! Who knew such an overpowered ability would have a weakness that could be easily exploited. If I remember correctly, I could sense that he attempted to use his ability on Rosalina¡¯s wood dragon when he first dropped in. Something about AIDs I think? I didn¡¯t see any visible changes from the dragon nor did it look like it was affected by the phrase. Our beam clash must¡¯ve drowned out the roars flying out of the beast¡¯s mouth so Jason had to resort to a dropkick. Then, he attempted to use it again, though I grabbed his face before he could say it. Although, I was pretty sure my hand couldn¡¯t stop him from finishing the phrase, so the only thing that could¡¯ve prevented the activation of his ability was my hand luckily covering his eyes. Now that I think about it, that was like the second time that freak was trying to give me AIDs¡­ Is AIDs really that powerful!? ¡°I¡¯m confused about one thing though¡­ I¡¯m pretty sure Jason was able to see, hear, and smell you when you two were fighting, so how come his ability didn¡¯t work then?¡± Sunshine grabbed a green marble from her pocket. It was the mini forcefield Dante used. ¡°The whole three senses thing applies both ways. I couldn¡¯t hear him thanks to these earplugs, so I didn¡¯t die in a bloody explosion. Pretty cool, right?¡± I clapped aggressively, in awe of how cool my daughter was now. ¡°How¡¯d I get so lucky with a daughter like you?¡± Sunshine tried to cover her rosy cheeks. ¡°Oh, I¡¯m not that great¡­ But you can keep praising me I guess.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no way I¡¯m gonna lose to that guy now¨Cnot after that new info!¡± I said with high confidence. ¡°Plus, I should be able to use more of these plant moves now that we¡¯re out in the fields. Jason hasn¡¯t seen any of that.¡± ¡°Actually, there is another reason you lost.¡± ¡°Is it the plant thing? I already-¡± Before I could finish my sentence, Sunshine zoomed through the air and appeared before me, a fiery emerald energy surrounding her baseball bat as she prepared to strike. She swung her bat and, thinking quickly, I grasped it firmly, holding her up in the air. ¡°You''re gonna attack me instead of telling me the other reason? You''ve gotten bolder.¡± ¡°I learned it from you,¡± she replied. I noticed that her body was enshrouded with a bright aura. It was as though I was a piece of the sun was right in front of me. ¡°How about I learn what the other reason was?¡± ¡°Well, the reason¡¯s simple. You¡¯re slow.¡± Her aura surged as she flashed out of my sight, leaving her baseball bat in my grip. Dust erupted with each step she took, swirling upwards like miniature storms. She circled around me, a trail of green marking her rotation. My daughter didn¡¯t make a sound, so I had to rely on my vision to catch her lack- A punch from a small fist caught me off-guard, slamming into the side of my chin. I looked to my right, my body firm and still, and noticed Sunshine had actually landed a hit on me. It looked like I was in store for another attack as she raised another fist. However, she didn¡¯t throw a punch yet. The nuclear energy from the sky quickly gathered around her fist, like it was a black hole swallowing the essences of the universe. But her hand wasn¡¯t absorbing it. The energy was latching onto her skin, coating it like armor. She attempted to land another punch, and I caught her fist before it did. ¡°The energy in the air¡­ You¡¯re using it to power up your body, right?¡± I asked. ¡°Exactly!¡±, she exclaimed, jumping off of me. ¡°Apparently, most of the Underground Radius members and the Radius users we haven¡¯t seen yet can power up using the energy in the air. Including Jason. I¡¯d say he¡¯s one of the better users of the technique.¡± ¡°Well, that¡¯s not good,¡± I muttered, tossing her bat back to her. ¡°Not only is his ability dangerous, but he can use that technique well too. Although, I¡¯m pretty sure whenever I absorb energy from things, I¡¯m practically doing the same thing, right?¡± ¡°Eh, not really,¡± she denied, raising an eyebrow. ¡°I don¡¯t think the energy absorption is like¡­ increasing your strength and speed. The main thing about it is that it lets you release it in different ways. I think it only makes you feel stronger, but you¡¯re just using strength you hadn¡¯t tapped into yet. I read about it in one of the books you got me. I think it¡¯s called ¡®hysterical strength¡¯.¡± ¡°Oh, I know that thing. It¡¯s like when a mom is trying to lift a car off her child in order to save her. Like an extra boost of adrenaline.¡± ¡°Yep. What makes what I do different is that I¡¯m using an outside source to strengthen my body, not an inner source. You just need to learn how to do that and you¡¯ll probably be good.¡± I don¡¯t like the sound of that ¡°probably¡±¡­ ¡°Ok then¡­ How do I do it?¡± I asked, slamming my fists against each other. ¡°Oh, that¡¯s the problem! You can¡¯t,¡± she said, holding back her laughter. ¡°What!? Then what was the point of giving me that whole explanation? And why can¡¯t I do it?¡± ¡°Jesus said it¡¯s ¡¯cause you¡¯re a zombie,¡± she answered, composing herself. ¡°But don¡¯t worry! I think there¡¯s a workaround you can try. The whole aura strengthening thing is getting the energy on your skin and making it stick. Maybe if you absorb it but stop right before it goes inside of you, it¡¯ll be the same thing. But you have to keep using the absorption. Like a constant state of it.¡± That¡­ could work. It was a risky move though considering I could screw up Sunflower¡¯s healing process within me if I absorbed any outside energy. Damn! I should¡¯ve asked that fat wood dragon if he knew how long this would take¡­ Well, there¡¯s no use in complaining now. I¡¯ll just have to risk it! I raised my hands to the sky, and I began to bring in the surrounding nuclear energy to my hands. I had no idea how to absorb using the rest of my body, aside from my mouth, so strengthened hands would have to do for now. Once I felt the energy grace my fingers, I tried wrapping it around my hands. It wasn¡¯t easy. Usually, I¡¯d already have it inside of me, though now I had to keep my ability in a constant state of activation. I felt like a bodybuilder having to keep 300 pounds in the air for twenty seconds or more without completing the set. This was¡­ Shit! To my dismay, a massive burst of energy washed over my glowing body and drowned me in its overwhelming intensity, entering through every hole it could find and invading my body. This was too damn much! Where the hell did all this come from!? Even though I had no lungs, it felt like I couldn¡¯t breathe. I grabbed my neck, hoping whatever was attempting to destroy me would come out. ¡°Jerome Hunter¡­ I think I¡¯ve had enough of your body. This state of absorption¡­ is not for me.¡± That feminine voice¡­ It sounded so familiar, and yet I know I¡¯ve never heard it before. She almost sounded like an older version of Rosalina¡¯s daughter. I wanted to speak. Unfortunately, the energy was stuffing my mouth so much that I couldn¡¯t even scream out for my daughter. ¡°Jerome, why did you kill¡­ my mother¡­? Chapter 33.5: Dante POV 2: Dante and Jason ¡°Asphyxiation!¡± shouted Jason, ripping his way through a horde of zombies with his bare hands. He took off his gloves beforehand, which was pretty idiotic considering that one bite from a zombie would either kill him or turn him into a massive, masked zombie that I¡¯d have to flee from. He punched the head of a zombie clean off and it flew towards me, radioactive ooze dripping out of its mouth. ¡°Watch it, asshole!¡± I said, spawning a forcefield around the severed head before it could come near me. I blasted the head back at the bastard, frustrated that he was still ignoring me while I could¡¯ve died from his recklessness. To my disappointment, the bubble hitting his back didn¡¯t even make the guy stumble. It was like I just threw a ball at a wall and it bounced it back apathetically. We were on the path back to the secret entrance to Underground City A, but a pack of zombies had somehow flooded the area, filling the air with a putrid scent that reeked of sulfur, shit, and guts. The Radius had tasked a couple of resource adventurers to clear out the area a while back so the road would be an easy walk. However, here they were giving me and my thick forcefield so much trouble! How the hell did they even come back here? A zombie horde at this size was unusual unless a Type Two Radion had recently passed by. They had a smell that normal zombies were attracted to that only came out once the Type Two left. There was a giant crater a few miles back¡­ That might explain it. I knew I was fine thanks to my sturdy forcefield, but I was sure Jason would have a lot more trouble than I anticipated. Enough trouble for me to finally see his Radius ability in action. I heard how overpowered it was. However, if I could find a weakness, he was beatable. I just had to make sure he didn¡¯t see my weaknesses. I formed a bubble around the swarm of mindless freaks clawing at my forcefield, and threw them towards Jason, who was now twirling a zombie in the air as though it was a dancer¡¯s ribbon. ¡°Hey Jason! Go for a home run!¡± His attention locked on to the sky upon hearing me, and he began to cackle like a hyena on crack once he saw my forcefield of zombies. Then, he grabbed another zombie, jumped into the air, and held the monsters by their legs like a baseball bat. With a powerful swing, he batted down my bubble at the group of maneaters, excitedly screaming, ¡°AIDs¡± as he did. A tsunami of green blood and rotten flesh washed over the desolate forest, a pair of radioactive squirrels jumping onto my forcefield as a desperate attempt to escape the devastation. Before they could be washed away, I opened up two holes for the animals to fall into and closed them right after. As I waited for the blood to pass, I heard growling from below me. The squirrels were piercing through me with their emerald eyes, and they were ready to pounce. Without hesitation, I created small forcefields¡ªthe size of pearls¡ªand chucked them at the squirrels, capturing them. Little bastards must¡¯ve forgot I saved them! Now they¡¯re trapped in the balls I just shoved in my pocket. Once the sound of ooze dropping to the ground ended, I deactivated my forcefield, and I was immediately hit with this foul stench of death that violated my nostrils. I punched my nose and was left in awe of the absolute bloodbath that Jason caused. It was like standing in a pool of green. ¡°Death by Firearm,¡± said Jason, menacingly approaching me. ¡°I don¡¯t understand a word you just said, but that was some real good batting out there,¡± I said, mimicking Jason¡¯s earlier attack. I then patted him on the arm and said, ¡°You really gave those cocksuckers aids. You played sports before the nukes hit? Like back in high school or something.¡± He gave a thumbs up. ¡°That¡¯s killer, man,¡± I said, trying to make my fake smile look as real as possible. ¡°Wish I could¡¯ve gone to high school, you know. This whole shit started when I was thirteen. Ten years later and sometimes¡­ I still wish-¡± Before I could finish my sentence, I noticed that Jason had already walked a couple feet away from me. ¡°Hey!¡± I yelled, speedwalking towards him. ¡°I try to connect with you and you leave me hanging like a desperate virgin in a bar? Just because I can''t understand you, doesn''t mean you can''t understand m-¡± Suddenly, a zombie emerged from the sea of blood and chomped down on Jason¡¯s arm. Quickly, I slammed a forcefield on its body, ripping its teeth out of the man¡¯s wound. ¡°He bit you real good there, Jason. Pretty surprising to see you get caught off guard like that.¡± It wasn¡¯t just surprising though. It was flat out suspicious. This was the same guy that could crash through walls like they were paper and move out of your line of vision in the time it takes you to blink. There was no way a goddamn zombie could get past his Energy Sense either¡ªassuming he still had it activated. So why the hell would he let one get a bite out of him? Unless¡­ Holy shit! Was I able to get him tired!? This was perfect. In that case, I can just- My plan was shattered upon the sight of Jason slicing off¡­ his own arm with a machete. As I stood frozen in shock, Jason¡¯s gaze locked onto the severed arm, his eyes flashing with a fierce determination. Blood was spilling out of the stump like a fountain, and the guy attempted to close his wound with his bare hand. I snapped out of it and decided to close his injury myself with my ability. The small forcefield surrounded the bleeding stump, blood squirting inside of it while the bubble closed and closed until it was sealed shut. ¡°Drowning,¡± he muttered, hovering his hand over the forcefield. ¡°Was that a thank you because that''s what you owe me for saving your life,¡± I remarked, scratching my scarred scalp. ¡°Lethal Injection.¡± Shockingly, Jason turned around, picking up his severed arm, and continued walking. His movements were slow and heavy now, as if he''d just fought the hardest battle of his life. He turned back and gestured for me to follow him. ¡°Decapitation!¡± ¡°Don''t you think you should see a doctor?¡± I asked, failing again to smooth out of my white hair. ¡°And I don''t mean in the Underground. I mean, somewhere up here.¡± He turned back around and lumbered forward. ¡°Seriously Jason, the only reason you''re not passed out here is because I was here to close your wound. Imagine if I wasn''t here. You''d be dead without me, you know that?¡± I started walking. ¡°Even now, my ability could deactivate at any random time, and once that happens, you''re fuc-¡± A flash of pain erupted in my cheeks, and I realized that Jason had closed the distance between us and grabbed my face tightly, holding me in the air. ¡°Woah, woah, woah! The hell are you doing to me!?¡± ¡°Eaten by a Shark!¡± ¡°You like grabbing onto things, huh? Why don¡¯t you try grabbing onto this, you motherless fuck!?¡± I hissed, tugging at my crotch. The comment only helped in making Jason angrier as his grip on my face had grown stronger. ¡°Jesus Christ! Do you really think going back to the Underground is more important than treating your arm? I know a doctor there that specializes in-¡± ¡°AIDs!¡±, he growled, cutting me off with an ever growing fury. ¡°No, not AIDs you fool! Limb reattachment! I can get you fixed if you just follow me.¡± Jason¡¯s grip didn¡¯t loosen. He didn¡¯t say a word¡ªjust turned and kept walking, dragging me along like my arguments didn¡¯t even matter. There was only one way I was gonna hit this guy where it hurt the most¡­ ¡°Jason, do you really like being forced to stay in the Underground?¡±, I asked softly. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. He stopped, as though my question had actually paralyzed him. ¡°You¡¯ve been down there for so many years, and my dad rarely lets you go to the surface. And when he does, he promises that every time you do all his dirty work that he¡¯ll let you have more freedom, but your freedom still isn¡¯t there. He¡¯s using you.¡± His hold on my head softened, and his eyes became a little less intimidating. ¡°My dad don¡¯t give two shits about you. Hell, he don¡¯t even give one shit. You could call him right now and tell him that you lost an arm and he¡¯d just tell you to continue with your ¡®mission¡¯. Guess what? People like us don¡¯t matter to him. We¡¯re replaceable because our abilities don¡¯t fix the effects of the apocalypse. If we ain¡¯t captains, then we ain¡¯t shit to anybody. Is that the status you wanna go by for the rest of your days? ¡®Not worth shit?¡¯¡± Jason still didn¡¯t say a word, seemingly considering what I was suggesting. His hand was lowering by the second. ¡°I don¡¯t really know you, Jason. But I do know what you want. You don¡¯t really care about being respected, however, you do care about having unlimited options, right? As long as my dad has you on a leash, you¡¯ll never get that! What matters more, your health and freedom or following my dad¡¯s orders like a little bit-¡± Jason dropped me into the pool of blood and guts before walking off in the opposite direction. I quickly surrounded myself with a forcefield and shook my body erratically, trying to fling the disgusting ooze off my clothes. The only upside to being covered in zombie remains was that it made them think you were one of their own. But who cares if you shared the same scent now? Screw that! This was a really good damn suit and now it smells worse than elephant shit! And my hair¡­ my beautiful, black hair. Well, only one half now, but still¡­ my hair! At least there was one thing I could be satisfied about. It looked like Jason¡¯s gone rogue. Whether that be temporarily or permanently¡­ who knows. For now, the first step to my plan on getting the money back had succeeded. Fortunately, I managed to get a lead on the money¡¯s whereabouts. The tortured guy¡¯s murder had shaken me up too much to remember it right away, though I¡¯d recorded what he said before my mind went blank. Obviously, Jason didn¡¯t know any of this. Even though my scarred face prevented my lips from curling into a smile on that side, I still smiled anyway. My normal half could do it just fine. ***** We had made it to the outskirts of the Woodshaven civilization, and I had informed Jason that a doctor that could potentially fix his injury was in the small town we hadn''t entered yet. In actuality, I was in search of a slave owner named Elias who was the ringleader of the whole money stealing operation. There was an auction taking place in this town today, and those bastards were gonna use our cash to enter it. Only way to stop them was to crash the event. The problem was that the two of us had faces a person could easily remember after we were already gone so we couldn''t go in unless we wanted my dad to find out about this last minute plan of ours. It was a good thing a man like me had connections with a lot of pathetic guys trying to make it big in our apocalyptic world, and my loan shark goons were one of them. ¡°Yo Dante, we got the masks you asked for,¡± a man whispered behind me. I turned around, and I saw that one of my loan collectors was approaching me with a black ski mask and a demon mask. Something didn''t feel right upon seeing that demon mask. Was that prick¡­ mocking me!? Without hesitation, I stomped towards the smiling bastard and grabbed him by his sweaty chin, his smiling fading in exchange for a confused expression. ¡°You think you''re funny, Matt? You think I''m some kind of joke?¡± He tried to rip my hands off, yet he failed miserably. He was a pathetic weakling¨Cof course he failed. ¡°What did I do wrong!?¡± he asked fearfully, gritting his teeth. ¡°You said get you masks¨Cthat''s what I did.¡± ¡°I''m out for a week and I''m getting disrespected and insulted by my own men. Embarrassing.¡± ¡°How am I disrespecting you, boss? I did what you asked.¡± ¡°Shut up. Heads or tails.¡± I pulled out my gun. ¡°Make your choice.¡± ¡°Woah! Calm down, Boss. I ain''t do nothin¡¯ wro-¡± ¡°I swear to God, Matt¡­¡± I pointed the gun at his forehead. ¡°Make a choice or I''ll blow your brains out.¡± ¡°Ok, ok!¡± he said with shaky hands. ¡°Uh¡­ Tails!¡± I sighed as I shoved the gun back between my belt, disappointed that my goon was able to live another day. ¡°Lucky choice. Cherish it till the day you die. I let go of his chin and he stepped back, holding his chin in pain. ¡°An asshole would''ve just killed you immediately. You''re lucky I like to give people choices.¡± ¡°What the hell, boss,¡± muttered Matt, furrowing his brows. ¡°We don''t see you for a whole week, and now you start acting crazy? You haven¡¯t been the same since fighting that talking zombie.¡± The second I heard that, I let go of him and he nearly tripped on his own feet stepping back. Talking zombie? There''s no way something as unbelievable as that exists. My memories were gone, though I think I would remember something crazy like that. ¡°You calling me crazy, Matt?¡± I chuckled. ¡°A talking zombie sounds like nonsense to me.¡± ¡°I''m serious, boss. It was right after we took that kid away from that black guy. What was his name¡­?¡± He scratched his head. ¡°Jerome, right?¡± Jerome¡¯s kid? If I recall correctly, her name was Sunshine. The last thing I remembered before I woke up with this new look was me holding her up in the sky while I was pointing my pistol at her terrified face. My dad had assigned me a mission to retrieve that girl and take her to the Underground so that her ability could be thoroughly examined. Since I was a Radius, her contagious disease didn''t affect me. Although, I couldn''t say the same for the men who were with me that day. I would apologize for not letting them know about that sooner, however, there was no way I was gonna lose even more respect now¡­ Not after I''ve already lost so much. No matter how hard I searched through my mind, I couldn''t find a single moment where Jerome opposed me that day. And yet, not even five minutes had passed before my dad said that I ¡°failed to capture Sunshine¡±. None of them would tell me who took her away from me. Was it Jerome who saved her¡­ No, there¡¯s no way he¡¯d beat me. Then again, my dad once told me that the strength of a father increased when trying to save their kid from harm. Maybe Jerome tapped into that strength. Although, what about the zombie? There was the one I captured, and now apparently there¡¯s a talking one as well. This is all too confusing¡­ Screw this shit. There are other things more important right now. I gestured for Matt to give me the masks and he quickly tossed them over to me. I ran my thumb across the demon mask¡ª a cold and plastic feeling. I really didn¡¯t want to wear this, but Jason needed the ski mask more than me. The weirdo never wanted to take off the one he already had on. I looked back and noticed that Jason was¡­ gone! ¡°Shit! Hey Matt, where the hell did the big guy go?¡± I asked, clenching my head in disbelief. ¡°He was just here, wasn''t he?¡± ¡°I guess.¡± He sounded unsure, like he never even saw him in the first place. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t know since you were threatening to shoot me!¡± ¡°Calm down. I already apologized for that,¡± I replied, pulling the demon mask over my face. I had to stab through the mask with the shard of glass in my forehead to actually put it on. ¡°Y-You didn¡¯t apologize for anything!¡± I didn¡¯t bother responding to his whining. Instead, I rushed into the town, knocking down a few nosy bystanders in the process. I used my Energy Sense and scanned the entire town for Jason¡¯s aura. The technique came easy for me as my forcefields were activated in the exact same way¡ªborrowing the energy from the area and using it for yourself. It should¡¯ve been easy to find the weirdo¡¯s aura considering no one in this town had the abilities of a Radius. If they did, we would¡¯ve already tracked them down. That fact was soon proven wrong once I realized that there were multiple auras in the town. Three or maybe four in the supposed auction building, one in some random tool shop, and two in a small house in the distance. All of them had the same appearance, yet there was one that shone more brightly compared to the others. It was as though a piece of the sun escaped from the star¡¯s fiery clutches and decided to gift me with its beautiful presence. Would someone like Jason really have such pretty energy surrounding him? Well, I wouldn¡¯t know until I found out. I ran towards the direction of the bright aura, ignoring the shocked expressions of the townspeople who looked confused that a masked man was running through their civilization. After a couple more minutes of running, I was finally able to reach the house and the aura was even bigger than I thought it¡¯d be¡ªand brighter. I had to turn my Energy Sense off just to focus. Then, I activated my forcefield and took a couple quiet steps forward, pulling out my gun. The air was weirdly heavy, like the gravity had increased immensely. I was forced to change the conditions of my forcefield to ban gravity from the inside, causing me to float inside my bubble. I opened a hole in my field and grabbed the doorknob. The door was unlocked. Slowly, I pushed the door open, reluctantly deciding to turn my Energy Sense back on. Jason was there, but the bright aura¡­ wasn¡¯t his. There was still some light in the room, so I was able to get a decent look at who the energy actually belonged to. The aura came from¡­ a little girl!? She was sound asleep on a bed and Jason was standing over her, salivating like a hungry dog. Wait a minute¡ªher face¡­ I know that face! The last person I remember from that day. ¡°Sunshine!¡± Chapter 34: I Need To Transform! The world around me had become much more twisted than I could ever have imagined. I had no idea why or how, but I was transported to¡­ I didn¡¯t even know. My daughter wasn¡¯t in front of me anymore. Instead of being by my side like she should have been, she was everywhere around me. Not clones of her. Well, there were clones, though not of her entire body. The entire sky, every corner in every direction, was just hundreds of my daughter¡¯s faces, contorted and left in a permanent expression of fear and agony. I looked down, not wanting to witness such a painful expression Sunshine was forced to take. However, I was only met with even more of her distraught expressions as the whole ground was made up of her face. I screamed and tried to run away, but I tripped on my child¡¯s gaping mouth. My face crashed onto her cheek, and I felt something wet, something sticky stain my forehead. It wasn¡¯t my blood. It was her blood, somehow spilling out of her mouth. Fear poured into my soul as I crawled out of the way, desperately trying to find anywhere that wasn¡¯t this horrible place. The air smelled like a mixture of rotten eggs and manure, and pinching my nose didn''t seem to matter. The faces all around me didn''t help either as my stomach churned at the sight of it all. My breathing was becoming erratic, and my heart was nearly beating out of my chest. Wait a minute¡­ my heart? I stopped moving to examine my body, and I realized that I was human again. Without hesitation, I dug through the pockets of my coat and, as I expected, Sunshine¡¯s baby picture was in there. It all made sense now¡­ this place was the state between absorption! But how the hell did I get here? And how do I get out¡­? ¡°This isn''t the state between absorption.¡± A girl¡¯s voice boomed across the space, vibrating my body uncomfortably. I grabbed my arms, trying to keep my body in place. My eyes scanned every direction, and yet I couldn''t see where the voice came from. With how loud she was, it was as though the entire world said that sentence. ¡°Who are you!? Actually, I don¡¯t care who you are¡­ Get me out of here or I¡¯ll-¡± ¡°You don''t care? After you killed my mother and forced her inside this disgusting, undead body¡­ you''re saying you don''t care about me!?¡± She sounded conflicted, like she wasn''t even sure if what she said was the truth or not. Although, that wasn''t the only thing I was concerned about. There was only mother she could''ve been talking about, but that would mean that this voice came from¡­ ¡°Sunflower!¡± I screamed to the sky. ¡°Is that you?¡± ¡°No shit, old man. Who else would be talking to you inside your body like this?¡± We''re inside my body? That''s impossible! Why the hell would my insides be filled with the pained expressions of my child? ¡°There''s no way we¡¯re inside of me. That wouldn''t make any sense¡­ If this were my body, then that means I would have absorbed myself, right? Obviously, that''s not tr-¡± Suddenly, one of the faces on the ground began to rise, cutting off my words mid-sentence. Her teeth began to sharpen as her jaw extended way beyond what it should''ve been capable of. Then, the head chased me by its lonesome, and I immediately made a break for it. Adrenaline surged through my body while I jumped over all the opened mouths, taking control of my scrawny legs. Unfortunately though, adrenaline could only take me so far as Sunshine¡¯s teeth were only a few inches away from chomping my head off. There was no damn way I was gonna get eaten by my own daughter¡­ No! That¡¯s not my daughter. Just some sick creation by a broken girl who had the wrong idea about my situation. And if I recall from my last run-in with Rosalina, anything in your imagination could appear in the state between absorption. And if all this was created with her daughter¡¯s imagination, then that meant only one thing. I turned back with gritted teeth, a look of ferocious intensity etched across my face. ¡°You¡¯re not real!¡± I delivered a sloppy punch to her face, expecting it to dissolve in a cloud of mist. Instead, the moment my fist made contact with her skin, it transformed into leaves that scattered into the distance. ¡°Sunflower, that¡¯s enough!¡± I shouted, hardening my fists. ¡°I absorbed your body so I could help you. A really bad man hurt you and I-¡± ¡°You¡¯re right. A really bad man did hurt me, and I¡¯m looking at him right now.¡± ¡°I would never hurt you. I absorbed your mother so I could save your life!¡± ¡°And by doing so, you hurt me in a way I don¡¯t think I could ever recover from.¡± It sounded like she was on the verge of tears. ¡°Absorbed!? Don¡¯t sugarcoat what you did, you fucking monster. No wonder these twisted faces of your daughter are all you can see here. You¡¯re gonna hurt her like you hurt me. You deserve to look at this.¡± ¡°Sorry to tell you, but these things aren¡¯t my daughter and they never will be.¡± I pointed a thumb to my back and looked behind me. ¡°Because she¡¯s right here.¡± The area behind me brightened as a pair of small hands began to emerge from the light. Arms, torso, legs, and eventually, Sunshine¡¯s face came into view. She wrapped around my body, clinging to my back. Despite her just being a creation of my imagination, I still felt her warmth, as though the sun came down and embraced me. The scent of her minty fresh flower headpiece did well in erasing most of the rotten smells from my nose. Who cared about all the horrific visuals in this place when I had something to wash them all away? More faces erupted from the ground a couple feet away from us, their faces a stark contrast from my adorable little girl. Another group of faces began to descend from above, and their razor-sharp teeth were bared and ready to bite. ¡°You think summoning your kid will remove all the bad shit you put her through?¡± questioned Sunflower, her voice growing angrier. ¡°All of these faces are a representation of the pain and sadness your ignorance has put her through¨Cwill put her through!¡±This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. My head sunk upon hearing this, feeling the weight of her words crash onto me like a boulder. I was well aware of all the problems I¡¯d caused in my daughter''s life, problems I had yet to apologize for. The fear of her anger, her disappointment, locked my better judgement in a cage I couldn''t find a key for. Honestly, I didn''t even know if I wanted to unlock it. And yet, it was keeping those truths locked away that kept adding more of these problems to the pile that already existed. I was doing the same with Sunflower, and I had to fix that¡­ right now! Sunshine poked the back of my bald head. ¡°You ready, Jerome? Let¡¯s go,¡± she said with a reassuring voice. My head rose, pushing against the weight of everything, and I charged forward. One of the heads was about to bite my head, but I ducked just in time as my daughter smacked the head away which reduced it to leaves. ¡°Sunflower, your mom entrusted me to save your life and protect you!¡± I screamed, decking a few Sunshines out of my way. ¡°The only one who could¡¯ve revived you at that moment was me. And you know that. You¡¯ve been inside of me this entire time as living energy, and I was rebuilding you!¡± ¡°Just shut up and die already!¡± The moment she uttered those words, the speed of the heads increased, and dodging them was becoming much more than I could manage. It was like they absorbed her hatred and desperation and used that as power. ¡°You¡¯re not gonna get through to her by talking right now,¡± my daughter suggested. B, gripping my shoulders tightly. ¡°The only way you¡¯ll get her to listen to you is by restraining her somehow. You can do that, right?¡± ¡°Of course I can,¡± I answered, still running away from the heads. ¡°The real question is whether you¡¯ll be able to handle what I¡¯m about to do.¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯m not real so do whatever you want.¡± Satisfied with her answer, I tensed every muscle, feeling the fibers of my body shift and the essence of my soul grow radioactive. Ooze burst out from within me, coiling around my body and burning away my skin¡ªalong with everything else¡ªuntil only the color green and my skeleton remained. Then, I launched myself upwards, dissipating the faces I was just standing on. ¡°Dang! I can¡¯t see any energy for me to absorb,¡± I said in the air, watching the faces fly towards me. ¡°Don¡¯t know how I¡¯m gonna destroy all this without some big blast.¡± ¡°Jerome, you can create anything you want in this space, remember?¡± said Sunshine. ¡°Just think up some energy and you¡¯ll be fully charged!¡± Oh yeah, she¡¯s right! Energy flared up from my feet, and rocketed myself through the air while the flying heads gave chase. With each passing second, the speed of my flying grew, and more heads rose from their positions to join the pursuit. They chased me like a coordinated army, though an army could only do so much against a Type Two Radion like me¨Cas they would soon realize. Teamwork had its merits, sure, but the tighter they grouped up, the easier it became for me to line up a clean shot at all of them. I cupped my hands together and shouted¡­ ¡°Fatherly Beam!¡± My technique tore through the sky, the thunderous shockwave nearly pulling my daughter¡¯s fingers off my shoulders, and it completely vaporized every enemy too slow to dodge the attack. Once the beam cleared, I noticed that I had also destroyed a large section of Sunshine¡¯s heads in the distance, leaving a huge hole in the side of Sunflower¡¯s world. What really caught my eye though was the green orb in the center of that hole. ¡°Sunshine, you got any idea what that green thing is over there?¡± I asked, pointing at the orb. ¡°It looks to be one of the auras you have inside of you. It can¡¯t be yours since you¡¯re already inside your own body, so it has to be one of the other two.¡± ¡°Huh? I thought this was the state between absorption! We¡¯re actually inside my body?¡± ¡°I already told you, old man,¡± Rosalina¡¯s daughter cut in. ¡°This isn¡¯t the state between absorption. This is the state between release. They both work the same way, but instead of me coming in, I¡¯m coming out. Unfortunately for you, you won¡¯t be coming out. Actually, I¡¯m just going to kill you.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not what your mother would have wanted, and you know that,¡± I replied. ¡°Even back when you two were in the Slavelands, she didn¡¯t ask for or want you to do the things you did. She just wanted you to be happy!¡± ¡°Huh!? Happy?¡± Sunflower¡¯s breaths were becoming rapid. ¡°After everything this stupid apocalypse put my mom and I through¡­ you expect me to be happy? What the hell would you know about her anyway? Just because you saw a fraction of her life¡­ doesn''t mean you''re some kind of expert on how she felt about¡­ anything!¡± A pair of giant, gooey hands emerged from the faces above, leaves raining down on me. ¡°The only way I¡¯ll find out how she felt is by taking that orb and bringing back my mom. Once I do that, she¡¯ll finally forgive¡­¡± Forgive? Oh¡­ I understand it now. ¡°Sunflower, you can¡¯t blame yourself for what happened to your mother in that shed,¡± I said softly. ¡°She died to save you then, and she let me absorb her to save you yesterday. Everything she did was to protect you. All the pain she went through as a human, as a zombie¡­ it was all for you. She would never hate you for that!¡± ¡°Shut up! Shut up! Just shut up!¡± An entire body erupted out of the sky. The giant was a girl covered in ooze, and her face looked even more twisted than the ones around us. Then, she talked. ¡°I¡­ I¡­ don¡¯t blame myself at all! Those slave masters made our lives a living hell, but you¡­ you knew, you saw how much my mom was trying to save me, trying to be with me, and yet you still went through with it. And then you move on just because that dumb kid of yours comes back¨Cthe kid that you¡¯ve been slowly killing for years. You don¡¯t think my mom wanted me to come back to her? You don¡¯t think my mom wanted to live!?¡± At that moment, the faces all turned into leaves and swirled upwards towards the girl. One by one, they pressed against her, merging into a colossal¡­ plant golem of sorts. Her body vanished beneath the shifting, living armor, as if a whole forest had come alive to shield her. Then, a deafening roar tore from its mouth, shaking the entire area¨Cwhich was now pitch dark¨Clike an earthquake. ¡°This is bad,¡± I whispered to my daughter, staring intently at the monster. ¡°I don¡¯t wanna hurt her, but I don¡¯t know how else I¡¯m gonna escape from here. And I can¡¯t just let her steal that Rosalina¡¯s aura from me. I need it for that future fight with Jason.¡± ¡°Yeah, it doesn¡¯t seem like you have a choice right now but to fight,¡± Sunshine replied. ¡°Fortunately for you, this could be good for your training.¡± ¡°Who cares about training? We have a seriously saddened kid above me. Training is the last thing we should be worried about.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t mean like that other training we were doing before. If Rosalina¡¯s orb is in here, then that means the third one would be in here as well. Use this chance as an opportunity to find it and learn how to transform into it again. Besides, just look at her. She seems more worried about killing you, than stealing your orb.¡± So she wants me to find a way to access that third form here? That¡¯s gonna be hard¡­considering I don¡¯t know where that other orb is!